The trek back through the deep marsh was a grueling, silent ordeal. In the dead of night, the swamp felt like a living thing, the thick fog clinging to our skin while the skeletal cypress trees seemed to reach out like grasping fingers. Demetrius kept a firm grip on my hand, his thumb tracing soothing circles over my knuckles to keep me grounded as we navigated the treacherous, hidden paths. We moved with agonizing slowness, the elite guards surrounding us in a tight, protective perimeter until the stagnant smell of peat and decay finally began to lift.
By the time the horizon began to bleed with the first soft hues of violet and gold, we had finally reached the solid earth of the outer forest. The transition from the swamp to the firm, pine-needle-covered ground felt like a physical weig
