Mandy’s POV
The descent from the Forgotten Temple was quiet—too quiet for a group that had just defied the odds and found sanctuary. I walked near the back, close enough to see Caitlyn’s silhouette ahead, small and slouched beneath her cloak, the tip of her fox toy poking from her pack like a forgotten limb.
It should have felt like relief, but it didn’t. The woods had changed.
Brent growled low, stopping mid-stride. His half-wolf eyes narrowed, nose lifting into the air.
“What is it?” I asked, but I already felt it too—a sharpness in the wind, not cold, but clean. Hollow.
He pointed to the ground with a clawed finger.
I followed his gaze.
A thin thread of frost crept along the forest floor, delicate as lace, spiraling outward in slow, thoughtful patterns. Not natural frost. This wa
