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By late day, the citadel’s walls broke through the trees, gray stone rising like a cliff against the forest. The apprentices breathed easier, voices lifting in murmurs of relief. Joran laughed too loud, brittle, almost breaking. The girl with the charm kissed it and whispered thanks to the gods. Emil said nothing. The relief did not reach him. The whisper was quieter here, yes, but not gone. It waited, patient. The gates groaned open, iron teeth yawning to swallow them back. The column filed inside, boots striking stone again. The sounds of drills and bells greeted them, normal life returning. Yet Emil felt no safety. As the gates clanged shut behind him, sealing the forest away, he knew the forest had not released him. Something had followed. --- The citadel swallowed them whole ag
- Writer
