The forest had gone unnervingly quiet. Too quiet. Jadon felt the cold pulse of danger again, sharper now, like a claw dragging across her senses.

Evan felt it through the bond, her focus, her certainty and his protective instinct surged so hard she nearly staggered from the warmth of it.

Christa kept pace beside them, magic crackling faintly around her hands. “They’re close. I can feel the shift in the air.”

Jadon nodded. “They’re watching us. Waiting, for what I don’t ...