The silence didn’t hold.
It tightened.
Denise felt it immediately—like the entire forest line had shifted its attention from her to Liam in a single, unified motion.
She turned slightly. “What did I do?”
Liam didn’t look away from the boundary.
“You stabilized the interference pattern,” he said quietly.
Denise frowned. “That doesn’t sound like something I understand.”
“It isn’t,” he replied.
A pause.
Then softer:
“But it’s something they understand very well.”
Below, the forest line flickered again.
Not a movement.
A response.
The voice returned—but not as clearly as before. It sounded… layered now. Strained.
“External anchor influence confirmed,” it said.
Denise’s chest tightened. “It sounds angry.”
Liam’s jaw flexed slightly.
“It’s recalculating,” he corrected.
Denise
