The morning light filtered through the dense canopy, casting a muted glow on the forest floor. My side throbbed with every step, the gash from my fight with Augustus serving as a painful reminder of how close I had come to death. Behind me, Elara trudged along, her face pale and her breaths uneven. Her silence was unnerving. I glanced at her occasionally, the weight of her exhaustion tugging at me, but I kept moving forward.
We couldn’t stop. Not yet.
And then I saw her.
The figure emerging from the undergrowth was unmistakable. Tall and wiry, her silhouette carried an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance. The knife in her hand glinted under the dappled sunlight, and her eyes scanned the area with sharp precision. Seraph.
I clenched my jaw. Of all the people I could have stumbl
