I stepped out into the pale sunlight, my cloak drawn tight around my shoulders. Sleep had been elusive—my dreams tangled with the remnants of yesterday’s illusions, the warmth of Aurelis’s magic still lingering on my skin like a ghost I couldn’t shake. Fen walked a few paces ahead, silent as ever, his posture rigid, the mask of calm he always wore firmly in place.
“Where are we going exactly?” I asked, my voice low. My bow was strapped to my back, the quiver heavy with arrows, and my training daggers hung at my hips. Everything felt essential, though deep down I doubted any of it would be enough.
Fen glanced back once. “You’ll know when you see it. That’s all you need.”
The path wound out of Kaelora, twisting through narrow alleys before spilling into the wildlands beyond the city walls
