The moon was low in the sky when they left.
No warriors. No council escorts. Just the three of them — Ivy cloaked in black, Kael silent and steady, and Ember gripping the leather strap of her satchel like it might keep her grounded.
They traveled through the dense forest in near silence, the air thick with early fog and the smell of moss. The ancient path they followed hadn’t been used in decades, overgrown with roots and forgotten magic. But Kael walked it like muscle memory, each step steady and sure.
“How far is this place?” Ember asked.
“Another hour,” Kael said without looking back. “It’s hidden beneath the cliffs past the wolfstone ridge.”
Ivy glanced up at the trees.
They were too quiet.
Too still.
They arrived just before sunrise.
The ruins rose from the earth like bones —
