Ella's POV
We left before sunrise.
No goodbyes. No council summons. No explanations to Christian or Maddox.
Just us.
Remo insisted it remain between the two of us. "Too many ears," he said. "Too many shadows we don't see yet."
I agreed, even if the silence left a knot in my chest.
He moved through the trees like he belonged to them. I tried to match his pace, but something about the air changed as soon as we passed beyond the southern ridge. The forest felt... heavier. As if the ground itself was waiting.
Mist clung to the underbrush, thick and unyielding. No birds sang. No branches cracked beneath our steps. Just the low rustle of our breathing and the whisper of something ancient pressed into the bark of twisted trees.
I pulled my coat tighter.
"It's like the world forgot this p
