Hazel’s POV
“Are you sure about this, Dimitri?”
We stopped in the middle of the narrow forest path. Moonlight sliced through the branches overhead, throwing silver stripes across his face. He turned to me fully, hands coming up to rest on my shoulders…firm, grounding.
“Do you trust me?” he asked quietly.
I looked into his eyes—steady gray, no hesitation.
“I do trust you,” I said. “But what if this sorceress thinks I’m evil? What if she does something to harm me?”
Dimitri shook his head once—slow, certain.
“Gwen is not like that. She’s one of the most powerful in this kingdom. We can trust her.”
I gave a long sigh and nodded.
“Okay.”
He squeezed my shoulders once before letting go.
We kept walking.
The night was alive with tiny sounds—crickets, distant owl calls, leaves rustling
