Elaras POV
No one moved right away, not even after the last of them hit the ground. The forest seemed to hold its breath with us, as if it wasn’t fully convinced the danger had passed, as if it expected something else to rise out of what we had just put down.
I could still feel them, not the way I had before, not moving or hunting, but still there in a faint way, like an echo that hadn’t decided whether to fade or linger. My chest tightened slightly at that realization, because something about it didn’t feel finished.
Kael stepped closer, not rushing or crowding, just enough for me to feel the shift in his presence again, solid and steady, grounding in a way that kept everything else from tipping too far.
“Don’t move,” he said quietly, and it wasn’t a command so much as caution.
I di
