-Ronan Hale:
By the time we found a safe place to rest, the sky had turned dark, stretching into an endless, starless black.
The air was cold, the damp kind that seeped into your bones and made every breath feel heavier than the last. The forest around us had grown quiet—too quiet—but it was the best we were going to get for the night.
I stopped near a fallen tree, the remains of an old campfire still visible in the dirt. Whoever had been here last was long gone, but the fire pit would save me some time. I pulled my horse to a stop and dismounted, keeping an ear out for anything unusual.
Elara slid off behind me, her movements sluggish. She was exhausted. I could see it in the way her shoulders sagged, the way she kept blinking like she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Sleep," I told her, my voice flat.
She hesitated, glancing at me. "What about you?"
I ignored the question and knelt by the fire pit, pulling out my flint. "I'll keep watch."
