He followed that voice like it was the only thing keeping him alive, tearing through the forest without slowing down, cutting down anything that got in his way. Branches snapped under his weight, the ground shaking beneath every step as he pushed forward, chasing something he could not afford to lose. By the time he reached the clearing where Jayden and the others had been just moments earlier, he was too late.
They were gone.
All that remained was a faint trace of her presence, barely there but impossible to mistake. It clung to the air just enough for him to feel it, and with it came a sharp, crushing pain.
Another wave hit him, stronger than before, like something breaking apart inside his chest. He could not tell if it was the rejection or something deeper, something heavier that he
