Rayna POV
We don’t speak again for a while.
The forest shifts as we go - trees growing tighter together, shadows lingering even as the sky turns from gray to blue. The silence here isn’t peaceful. It watches.
I almost don’t see the cabin until we’re nearly on top of it.
It rises from the woods like it grew there, half-swallowed by vines and moss. Stone and timber, sagging roof, dirty windows, a heavy oak door with no markings. But it doesn’t feel abandoned.
It feels… waiting.
Damon doesn’t hesitate. He strides up to the door and lays a hand against it. For a second, nothing happens.
Then - click. He pushes it open and stands aside, glancing at me. I hover at the edge of the clearing, instincts prickling.
“You’ve been here before,” I say quietly.
He nods once.
“Yours?”
“No.”
“W
