The structure didn’t just sit in the landscape.
It watched back.
As they approached, Emily felt it more clearly—the subtle pressure of something assessing, measuring, deciding.
Not through sight.
Through her.
Her core pulsed once, sharp and uneasy.
“…It knows we’re here,” she said quietly.
Kael didn’t slow her pace.
“Yes.”
Theodore walked slightly behind them now, his presence quieter—but his shadows had expanded, thin tendrils moving along the ground like they were testing the air itself.
Emily glanced at him.
“…Are we walking into a trap?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Yes.”
Emily exhaled. “That’s comforting.”
Kael shot her a brief look. “Then don’t step into it.”
“Trying not to!”
They reached the base of the structure.
Up close, it looked even more precise.
Sm
