*Chapter 36:
ALESSIA
The return to BloodNight felt wrong in a way that settled under my skin and wouldn’t let go, as though the forest itself had been holding its breath the entire time I was gone and only now exhaled after we crossed back over the border. The air here was cooler, cleaner, stripped of the copper tang that clung to Shadowmoon like old blood, and even though dawn hadn’t fully broken, the sky was pale enough that the shadows no longer moved on their own. The ground under my feet felt solid and familiar, and for a moment that steadiness was almost enough to make me believe nothing had changed.
Every step away from that clearing left a residue on my skin that wasn’t dirt or sweat but something older, clinging to me like a second skin I hadn’t asked for and couldn’t wash
