Raven's POV
We fell into complete silence after that, until we came across a vast wasteland, making my mouth fall open.
“Goddess help us…” I whispered, staring in shock. “What is this?”
Rowan’s hand landed gently on my back. “It’s been spreading throughout the kingdom. I didn’t realize it had come this far.”
I turned in a slow circle, taking in the cracked, lifeless earth stretching endlessly before us. The trees were nothing more than twisted husks, their branches brittle and grey. The air smelled stale, void of the usual scents of nature.
“What could be causing this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. A strange sadness settled deep in my chest, an ache that wasn’t entirely my own. It almost felt like the land itself was crying.
I forced myself to look away, but the feeling
