The forest didn't release them easily.
Even after the shadows withdrew, the air remained tense, as though the trees themselves were holding their breath. Selara felt it in the tight coil beneath her ribs, the quiet hum beneath her skin that refused to settle. Whatever Kaelen had done here wasn't finished. It never was.
They moved forward without speaking.
Draven walked half a step ahead now, not shielding her, not leading just there. Close enough that his shoulder brushed hers whenever the path narrowed. His presence grounded her more than she wanted to admit.
The terrain shifted as they descended into a shallow ravine. The trees thinned, branches arching overhead like rib bones, and the earth darkened beneath their feet, damp and cold. The smell changed too less pine, more iron.
Selara slowed.
"This place is wrong," she said quietly.
Draven nodded. "Battlefield."
"No," she replied, eyes scanning the ground. "Execution ground."
