Chapter 24. The Forest Between Cities

The forest received them in a silent, almost greedy embrace, its towering canopy blotting out the sky in a weave of leaves and limbs so dense that even scattered beams of moonlight seemed hesitant to intrude.

Airenna urged her mount forward with gentle but insistent pressure on the reins, her dark cloak streaming behind her like a pennant caught in a sudden wind, while the narrow trail wound in serpentine loops between centuries-old oaks whose gnarled roots twisted over the path and slender birch trunks that gleamed pale as bone in the muted light.

The scent of pine needles and damp earth lay thick on the air, but beneath it all lingered a sharp, acrid undercurrent of smoke, a reminder of Elysor’s torches and burning wicks. Somewhere behind them—though how far, they could not know—bells tolled from the city’s ivory towers, each resonant clang a warning that the runaway girl had slipped her chains once more.

Clinging to Airenna’s waist, Lora felt every stride of the