( Aria's POV )
The fog refused to lift.
It lay thick across the forest floor, wrapping around trunks and stones like something alive. Every sound was muted , the drip of water, the scrape of boots, the distant groan of shifting trees. Kael’s pack moved cautiously now, wounded and weary, the scent of burnt air still lingering from the fight with the Wraiths.
Kael hadn’t spoken since we’d regrouped. He walked ahead, blood drying dark against his shirt, eyes fixed on some invisible point in the distance. I could feel the rage in him like heat rolling off a fire , silent, controlled, dangerous.
Lyra moved beside me, her face pale but focused. The runes etched into her arms still glowed faintly, the residue of the spell she’d used to hold back the last of the Wraiths. Her voice was low whe
