The man sat alone in the shadowed depths of the forest, the fire before him snapping and spitting embers into the chill night air. With a slender stick, he traced idle shapes in the dirt, the rough scratch of wood on soil a small distraction from the weight pressing on his mind. The inky dark pressed close, and the breeze that slipped between the trees bit with a cruel edge.

It had been three days since he had last seen her. Three days since her scent soft and floral had brushed past him ...