The woods felt alive in the dark. Not in the soft, romantic way—no, not tonight.
Tonight they pulsed.
The moon sat low and swollen, casting everything in that cold silver glow that made bark look like bone and leaves like shattered glass. Every step Thea took sent shivers through the forest floor. Roots stirred. The air crackled like it held its breath.
She couldn't tell if it was the land responding to her magic, or her magic responding to the land.
Neither felt like control.
Silas stood a few paces away, his back to her, posture stiff, watchful. His long coat shifted with the breeze, but otherwise he didn't move. Watching. Waiting. Ever the warrior. His silence, once comforting, had started to feel like pressure.
Thea inhaled, palms out, trying to feel the thing inside her.
Not co
