Luna stood with her back turned to them, still and quiet. She didn't need to glance over her shoulder to know—they were getting closer.
The air thickened.
She could feel it shift, feel the way the temperature seemed to drop as the five shadows approached, stretching long and dark beneath the dull, flickering lanterns hanging above the entrance. Ravhiel was long gone by now, out of sight, out of reach.
'I wonder what they're about to do.' she thought, her eyes fixed on the ground ahead of her, heart beating steadily despite the dread curling up her spine. 'Ravhiel never said anything about them having to approach me.'
Their shadows loomed larger and larger until she felt it—five towering presences at her back. She didn't need to see them.
She could feel them. They were wolves stalking their prey, they surrounded her with silent dominance.
"Hey." A voice finally broke the tension—low, gruff, and too casual.
Vaelen.
