POV: Daniel 

The figure didn’t move at first. 

It just stood there on the horizon, a smear of gold and shadow where the new world met the sky.

The wind shifted around us, bending the grass, the air tightening as if the earth itself held its breath. Clara’s fingers gripped mine harder, her pulse fluttering through the tether.

“It’s watching,” she whispered. 

“I know.” 

But watching wasn’t the right word. 

It was ...