A Life Worth Saving
The wind carried the scent of damp earth and pine, a crisp reminder of how far they had traveled from the city’s cold stone and metal. Caleb preferred it that way—out here, in the wilderness, there were no walls, no suffocating reminders of a past he had long since left behind.
At least, he had tried to leave it behind.
Now, with Rowan at his side again, it was impossible to ignore the weight of what they had once been. Every step, every silence stretched between them like an unspoken truth neither of them wanted to face.
They had been tracking signs of the curse’s corruption for days, following the remnants of dark energy that slithered through the land like poison. Rowan had taken the lead, but Caleb remained close enough to watch him, observe him. The once-proud
