Leah Carter’s Point of View
The forest had never been so quiet, even the spirits seemed to hold their breath, since Caleb disappeared, every sound carried weight, the crack of twigs, the whisper of leaves, the sigh of the cold wind that swept through our camp each night. Kael hadn’t slept, neither had I.
He’d sent patrols in every direction, but each came back empty-handed. No footprints, no scent trail, nothing. It was as though Caleb had walked into the shadows and the shadows had swallowed him whole.
I sat by the dying fire, clutching his cloak in my hands, the faint smell of smoke and iron still clung to it, the scent of my brother. Every time I looked at it, my chest tightened.
Kael stood on the edge of the camp, his eyes glowing faint amber beneath the silvered night sky. “He’s c
