A group of pale, dead trees clawed at the sky like the fingers of a giant skeleton. Their twisted branches rattled in the wind, and the long, dry grass rustled and sighed with every passing breeze.
Ahead of the Golden Phoenix party, faint ginger lights flickered along the granite peaks, glowing like dying embers. Wisps of smoke curled and drifted through the air, carried by the uneven gusts that howled across the land.
The wind whistled loudly as it passed through a jagged rock formation—one that resembled the broken pillars of an ancient ruin. The sound echoed through the canyon like a mournful cry.
Evie scanned their surroundings with caution. They were standing at the entrance of Howling Canyon, and the eerie quiet made her skin prickle. Aside from the wind groaning through the gap between the twin valleys, nothing else made a sound. No birds. No beasts. Not even insects.
Together with Sumeri and Nikolai, Evie had been assigned to help Golden Phoenix clear the dungeon.
