A FEW HOURS LATER
MICHAEL'S POINT OF VIEW:
We walked in silence. The forest had changed the moment we crossed into the outer edge of Verdant Valley. Trees grew denser, gnarled roots twisting above ground like the fingers of something ancient trying to claw its way out. The air was thick not just with mist, but with a strange, clinging smoke that rolled along the ground like it had a mind of its own.
I tightened my grip on the hilt at my side. Something about this place didn't just scream danger, it whispered it, subtle and close, like a breath on the back of your neck. The crunch of leaves beneath boots. The occasional snap of a twig. But what unsettled me most was the quiet. Even the birds had gone mute.
"We're almost there." Vanessa said beside me, voice low. Her eyes were fixed on the thickening smoke ahead.
She looked calm, but I could tell by the way her hand kept flexing near her dagger that she was on edge too.
