Chapter 35. Through the Shadow of Blood

The name still echoed in her mind long after the forest faded.

Ysolde.

Samantha stirred, the dying embers casting long shadows across the tent’s walls. Outside, the wind whispered through the trees like distant voices arguing in a forgotten tongue. She blinked into the darkness, her pulse slow, heavy. The name didn’t feel foreign. It nestled deep inside her like a memory she hadn’t realized was hers.

A soft rustling came from the other side of the tent. Ida was curled up under her worn cloak, her breathing steady. The man Tavian, he had finally told them, sat just outside by the fire, sharpening his blade with slow, patient strokes.

It was late, and they had stopped when the moon had reached its peak. The forest trail had grown too narrow, too tangled with roots and thorns to push through safely. The hidden path that led to her mother’s sanctuary, Mira had said, was one that demanded both courage and caution. “Blood remembers, and so does the land,” she had warned be