~Laurent
“What’s the plan?” Denzel’s voice was rough, still frayed at the edges of what we’d just escaped.
“Get out of Verdant forest alive.”
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The ridge fell away into darkness below us. Verdant stretched out like a sleeping giant—black treetops shifting in the wind, mist crawling through their branches. The smell of burning metal from the facility clung to the rain. Every breath carried ash.
We started down the slope without speaking. The forest swallowed sound fast; even the crunch of wet leaves underfoot died before it could echo. I kept Ereval drawn, the blade dim but warm against my palm. From his expression, I knew he wanted to ask me where that sword I was wielding came from but couldn’t because we had worse things to worry about. We were in a monster city which was already
