Chapter Thirty
The Silver Coin
Theo crouched beside the footprint.
The moon cast long shadows across the forest floor as Rowan knelt opposite him, turning the strange silver coin over in his fingers.
Neither man spoke immediately.
Both had spent their lives hunting.
Tracking.
Reading signs most people never noticed.
"This wasn't dropped."
Theo said quietly.
Rowan nodded.
"It was left."
The coin hadn't landed naturally.
It stood upright against an exposed tree root, almost as though someone wanted it found.
Whoever had stood here...
Wanted them to know.
"What do you see?"
Theo asked.
Rowan studied the ground.
"One person."
"No struggle."
"No hesitation."
"They stood here for several minutes."
He pointed toward another impression in the soft earth.
"They shifted their
