Akira's POV:
The borderlands don’t announce themselves.
They don’t erupt suddenly from the earth or outline their borders with banners or magic. There’s no clear line where one kingdom ends and another begins—just a slow thinning of roads, a widening of sky, and land that bears the marks of being passed over too many times by people who never meant to stay.
I noticed it immediately.
Not because of the scent or sound—though both were there—but because of absence.
The absence of tension.
The absence of patrols pretending to be protectors.
The absence of eyes that followed our every movement was like a threat following around.
I walked ahead of Amir by half a step, as I always did. Not to lead, not to scout—just because my stride was naturally longer, my movement instinctive. The silv
