The forest didn’t end, it softened.The trees thinned until their shadows turned translucent, the air rippling with faint threads of silver that clung to our skin like dew. Somewhere ahead, the western horizon flickered—soft at first, then pulsing, like breath moving through the ribs of the earth.Riven slowed beside me. His hand brushed mine, calloused and steady, the way one touches something sacred. We didn’t speak. Words would have been too heavy for this kind of silence. The light ahead wasn’t frightening. It was familiar, the kind that hummed in dreams, in prayers we never said aloud."The western woods," he murmured, voice low. "They shouldn’t be glowing.""They’re saying goodbye," I said before I even realized it.The words came out fragile, trembling, but true. I could feel it—the same presence that once stirred the wind, that had guided us through ruin and blood, now lingering for a final breath.The path opened to a clearing where the trees leaned outward, bowing to somethi
Last Updated : 2025-11-10 Read more