Leo’s POV
The shape between the trees didn't move.
I couldn't see its face clearly, but I could make out broad shoulders and a figure standing too still to be someone who had lost their way. My fingers tightened around the strap of my backpack.
“Who's there?” I called.
The figure stepped into a patch of light. He looked like a man in his thirties, wearing a dark jacket and muddy trousers. His hair hung over his forehead, and his face was pale beneath the dirt. If I had passed him on a street in Greyport, I might have thought he was homeless or had been walking for days.
Then he lifted his head.
His eyes caught the light with a yellow gleam that made me take a step back.
“You're a long way from the road, little human,” he said.
“I was just looking around. I'm leaving.”
He smiled, b
