The wind whispered through the trees like a warning only the forest understood.
Talia walked alone beneath the silver glow of the moon, her bare feet brushing against damp earth and fallen leaves. Her pale dress swayed around her ankles, untouched by the cold despite the deepening night.
She carried nothing.
No bag.
No weapon.
No companion.
Only the sound of her wooden staff tapping gently against the ground guided her path.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The forest breathed around her.
Owls watched from high branches. Wolves hidden in the shadows lowered their heads as she passed, sensing the strange ancient power that wrapped around the blind healer like invisible threads of moonlight.
Talia tilted her face upward slightly.
“The stars are quiet tonight,” she murmured softly.
Even though sh
