Pain did not fade when Lilith opened her eyes.
It stayed behind her forehead like something had been carved into her skull and left unfinished. Her body followed a second later, registering the impact in scattered waves: bruised ribs, a burning shoulder, dirt pressed into the side of her face.
She pushed herself up anyway.
The surrounding forest was too still. Not the calm silence of night, but the kind that came right before the storm.
Branches stood like jagged ribs overhead, blocking most of the sky. What little light remained barely reached the ground, leaving everything in layered shadows.
Lilith exhaled slowly through her teeth.
“Rowan,” she called. “Mira.” She took a deep breath as speaking hurt her ribs. “Kai.”
Her voice disappeared immediately.
No answer came back. She tri
