CAMELLIA'S POV
The forest no longer felt like the same place.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, chasing away the shadows that had concealed the hunters only hours before.
I walked in silence, his oversized coat wrapped tightly around me. Almost unconsciously, I pulled the collar closer and breathed in its scent.
Smoke and sweat. A faint trace of wine.
Beneath it all lingered something warmer. Amber and bergamot.
For reasons I couldn't explain, the scent felt comforting, safe, and strangely familiar.
Somewhere along the way, tears began slipping down my cheeks. Not from fear or shame or the Rite's cruelty.
What weighed on me was something far more confusing. An ache I had no words for.
It settled deep in my chest, growing heavier with every step that carried me farther from th
