Evelina's POV
The light didn't stop where my map ended. It kept going, tracing farther into ground none of us had walked, and Caspian started after it almost immediately.
"Stay behind me. All of you."
Nobody argued.
We followed several steps behind him, watching the thin seam of light appear and vanish beneath roots and soil. There was nothing random about the way it moved. It wasn't wandering. It was heading somewhere, and Caspian seemed to recognize the direction before I did. His pace picked up slightly each time the light surfaced farther east.
The forest around us had gone quiet in the same way it had that first day on the old road. No birds. No small movement in the underbrush. Just our footsteps and the occasional low word passed between the guards behind us.
I kept my eyes o
