The forest had changed again.
Not in the way storms changed landscapes, leaving splintered trees and raw earth. This change was quieter. Subtle. The kind that slipped under your skin before your mind caught up.
The air felt thinner.
Not cold, not warm. Just… wrong.
Lena noticed it first. She stopped walking so suddenly that Kael nearly ran into her.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice instinctively low.
She didn't answer immediately. Her eyes scanned the trees, not searching for movement but listening. Feeling.
"The forest isn't breathing," she said finally.
Arin frowned. "Forests don't breathe."
"This one does."
Silence settled around them, thick as wool.
For the first time since they entered the Veilwood, there were no birds. No insects. No rustle of hidden animals shifting beneath leaves. Even the wind had gone missing, as if it had decided this place was none of its business.
Soren exhaled slowly. "That's not good."
Lena nodded once. "We're close."
