ARIA
Even with the vehicles, it still took four days to reach Ashencoil Valley. The roads were rough, and the air grew thinner the higher we climbed into the High Wilds. No one complained. No one relaxed either.
We did not run into any trouble along the way. That should have made it easier. It didn’t. Camping out in the open left us exposed. Every sound in the dark carried too far. Every shift in the wind felt like a warning.
I shared a vehicle with Kael Nightborne. He stayed close the entire time. His arm brushed mine. His hand rested at my back. When we slept, he kept some part of himself against me. It felt less like comfort and more like he was bracing for impact. As if he expected me to break at any moment.
He wasn’t the only one on edge.
There was tension around him. The others
