The world opened wide beneath us suddenly. A valley hidden between towering ridges, tucked so deep it was no wonder no one had found it. The grass shimmered faintly, it wasn't green but something deeper, something more alive. The wind that swept up from below was warm, carrying the scent of an aura sweet and ancient.
The sun was still rising behind us, but here, in this hollow, it looked like it had already touched noon. Clouds moved differently in the sky, and the trees whispered, even without wind.
It was like a secret, waiting.
Nathan sat up and stared. “Is that... real?”
Luca stood quietly, his eyes tracing the line where shadow kissed sunlight. “Feels like we’re not supposed to be here.”
I didn’t answer them. I stepped forward, slow and quiet, like I might scare the valley away.
The book at my hip pulsed once, then stilled.
“It’s here,” I whispered. “She’s here.”
Luca turned to me. “How do you know?”
I placed a hand over the leather cover of the book. It was warm now. “The path br
