The snow had turned from light flakes to a steady, heavy fall, each drop blanketing the forest in white, dulling sound and masking movement. I moved cautiously through the trees, boots sinking slightly into the icy ground. Every branch overhead was coated in frost, bending under its weight, threatening to break with the slightest disturbance. The forest felt alive tonight, each shadow a potential threat, each whisper of wind a signal I could not ignore.
Tarek walked beside me, silent, alert. Mira trailed a few paces behind, her eyes scanning the trees, ears twitching at the faintest crack of branch or movement in the snow. My senses were taut, sharpened by tension, and yet my mind kept returning to the faint pulse of the bond I could feel in the distance, Kael. Not near, but not far. Clos
