The forest had long since fallen silent.

Not the natural quiet of nightfall—but the kind that listens. Watches.

Boots pressed against damp earth as I moved between the trees, the weight of unseen eyes trailing my every step. Beside me, Kael remained alert, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his blade.

“Something is wrong,” he muttered low.

I said nothing.

I had already felt it.

A shift in the air. Subtle. Wrong.
The curse stirred beneath my skin, veins darkening faintly along my hands as a familiar hunger clawed at my restraint—but this… this was not it.

This was something else.

Something that did not fear me.

My gaze flicked toward the shadows between the Bloodwood trees, narrowing. For a moment, there was nothing. Only darkness twisting between branches—

Then—

A presence.

Watching.

Following.

The thing inside me stirred, a low whisper curling through my thoughts.

“Not prey…”

My jaw tightened.

“Show yourself,” I commanded, voice cold, cutting through the stillness.

The forest held its breath.

And then—

I turned sharply toward the sound behind me, eyes locking onto a figure just beyond the veil of shadow.

…You.

For the first time in a long while—

The silence felt uncertain.