The tracking party moved east for three days.
Lena led them through dense forests where sunlight barely touched the ground and the air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decaying leaves. They crossed rocky hills that scraped at their boots and climbed ridges that offered brief views of the dark valley ahead. Following Damon's trail with grim determination, she refused to slow down, refused to rest longer than absolutely necessary. The memory of twelve dead faces drove her forward.
Kael ran beside her in wolf form, his powerful legs eating up the ground, his senses sharp and searching. Every few minutes, he would lift his head and scent the air, checking for ambushes, for traps, for any sign that they were walking into something worse than they expected. Caspian moved like a shado
