Elara POV
The deeper we moved into the forest, the harder it became to pretend we were ahead of it, not because I could see anything following us, but because I could feel it adapting.
That faint thread I had sensed before didn’t weaken with distance. It stretched and thinned, but it held, as though whatever had been forced out of those bodies had found another way to stay connected without needing to be close.
It wasn’t just watching.
It was paying attention.
To me.
To how I had responded and what I had done.
The realization settled slowly, but once it did, it didn’t leave. This wasn’t something mindless or driven by instinct alone.
It was learning.
And I had just shown it something new.
Kael urged the horse faster, and the pack matched his pace without needing instruction, thei
