Bane and Lizzy moved closer, careful not to disturb a twig, their pulse quickening as the evidence began to reveal itself—a scrap of parchment with strange symbols, faint burn marks in the soil where her magic had touched, the subtle shimmer of energy only detectable by those who could feel it.
Lizzy’s hand brushed lightly against Bane’s, a silent anchor. “We have it,” she breathed. “We can prove it.”
Bane’s jaw clenched. “Then we get out before she knows we’re here. She’s already aware someone’s stirring, I can feel it. But she doesn’t know it’s us.”
Miles away, Katherine tilted her head, eyes narrowing as her instincts prickled. She didn’t see them yet—but she could sense the disruption in the threads she’d laid. A subtle tug, almost playful in its defiance, threading through the magi
