The realization followed Nyra into the next morning.
Not as fear.
Not even as worry.
It lingered as a question she couldn't answer.
The forest beyond the camp stretched endlessly beneath the pale light of dawn, its towering pines shrouded in silver mist left behind by the cool night air. Moisture clung to every branch and blade of grass. The rising sun had not yet climbed high enough to burn away the fog, leaving the world caught between darkness and daylight.
Nyra stood alone atop the eastern ridge.
The same overlook she had visited several times during the previous week.
The wind tugged gently at her dark hair as she stared toward the distant mountains.
From here, the camp looked small.
Almost insignificant.
A handful of shelters nestled between ancient trees.
Thin streams of
