Chapter 40. Direction

Aries POV

We made it out.

Barely — and not without casualties.

The night air stung my lungs as we ran, feet pounding against the earth, bodies brushing past trees like ghosts fleeing death. The shadowed forest swallowed us whole — a grim reminder of the blood-soaked battlefield we’d just escaped. The trail we left behind was one of sacrifice.

I didn’t stop until we were deep enough into the woods — deep enough to breathe, to steady ourselves, and to count our losses.

They were significant.

“This is all of us?” I asked, my voice sharp and on edge.

Julian nodded, his face carved from stone.

If he hadn’t warned us when he did, it would’ve been worse. Much worse.