Xavier woke Kael before sound did.
It wasn’t a jolt or a surge of panic — just a tightening beneath the ribs, a low, deliberate awareness that slid into place and refused to be ignored.
Something moved, Xavier said.
Kael opened his eyes slowly, senses stretching outward before his body followed. The fire beside him had burned down to a scatter of embers, warmth still lingering in the stones. Night pressed close around the hollow, thick with pine and damp earth.
He sat up, breath controlled. “Ava?”
Xavier paused, attention focused somewhere beyond the dark. She’s safe. For now.
That answer carried weight.
Kael rose quietly, dousing the last of the embers with soil before slinging his pack over his shoulder. The forest felt different tonight — not hostile, but alert, like a held breat
