Sable's POV
"We need to go," Tomas said, pulling my arm gently but firmly away from the treeline. "Now. Before that patrol spots us."
I let him pull me back, my legs moving on autopilot while my mind stayed fixed on that distant figure, the wrongness in his walk, the way he'd looked smaller somehow, even from a hundred yards away.
We made it back to the Hollow well before dark, the walk felt like it took twice as long as usual, my thoughts too loud to focus properly on the path beneath my feet.
"You okay?" Tomas asked, once we cleared the last stretch of trees before camp.
"Fine," I said, the word came out hollow.
He didn't push,but I could tell he wanted to. We split off toward our separate tents, and I spent the rest of the evening barely present, going through the motions of the e
