Arden's /Aria's POV
The starting line was not a beginning, it was an explosion. I moved with the current, then against it, my body following the path Kai had carved in his mind. The western ridge. We broke from the pack, two shadows slipping into the deep green silence of the trees.
The frantic sounds of the river path faded behind us, replaced by the dense quiet of the ancient forest. Our breathing was the only rhythm, our foot falling softly on the bed of pine needles.
He ran slightly ahead, a guide and a guardian, his presence a constant hum along the bond we now acknowledged. It was a shared pulse, a quiet assurance in the looming wilderness.
The climb was the first true test. A rock face, slick and challenging, a rope dangling like a promise from above.
He stopped me with a ra
