Sasha’s Pov
The branches clawed at us like they didn’t want to let us go.
They lashed across our faces and snagged at our clothes as if the forest itself had grown sentient, angry, wild, and desperate to keep us tangled in its roots. Thorns scratched like warnings. Leaves whispered curses.
But we didn’t stop.
Not when the howls of Council hounds echoed through the trees, distant but hungry. Not when my lungs burned like cinders. Not when blood soaked through my boots from where a sharp stone had torn through skin.
Alex’s grip on my hand never faltered, tight, unwavering. His breath was ragged, his pace brutal. He pulled me with him through the dense underbrush, past trees older than history, their bark carved with runes that shimmered faintly when we passed.
The higher we climbed, th
