The forest changed as they moved north.
The oaks and maples gave way to towering black pines, their trunks thick as watchtowers and their needles whispering like distant rain. The ground here was carpeted with moss and fallen needles, muffling every step.
"This is old forest," Halric murmured. "Older than the cities."
Elara glanced upward. "And darker. I don't like it."
Kael didn't like it either, but for a different reason. The quiet felt wrong. No birdcalls. No rustle of small creatures. Only the steady drip of moisture from the canopy and the faint creak of branches high above.
They've been here too, the abyss whispered. The dragons walk where they wish.
The boy stumbled on a root. Kael caught his arm and kept him moving. They couldn't slow. The hunters' circle was behind them, but not far enough.
They passed a stream that cut through the forest like a silver ribbon. Kael motioned them across, stepping on stones to avoid leaving tracks. Elara followed, silent as shadow. Halric's boots splashed, but the sound was swallowed by the heavy air.
On the far bank, the boy froze. His gaze was locked on something in the moss.
Kael followed it — and saw a footprint.
It was long, clawed, and sunk deep into the earth. Larger than a man's hand, with three talons forward and one back.
"Fresh," Halric said. His voice had dropped to a growl.
Kael knelt beside it. The edges of the print were still moist, the moss springing back slowly under his touch. "Hours old. Maybe less."
They moved again, this time slower, every sense strained. The forest seemed to close in, shadows pooling between the pines.
Then came the smell — copper and rot, faint but unmistakable.
They found the source minutes later.
A clearing opened ahead, the moss torn and stained dark. In its center lay the carcass of an elk, its body broken as if from a fall. The chest was split wide, ribs shattered outward. Most of the flesh was gone, stripped in ragged strips.
The boy whimpered. Elara pulled him close.
Halric's eyes swept the treeline. "It wasn't wolves."
"No," Kael said. "It was hungry."
Something moved above them.
Kael's head snapped up. A shadow glided between the branches, massive wings folding as it landed on a pine trunk. The bark shuddered under the weight.
It was smaller than the dragons Kael had seen in the abyss — perhaps half the size — but still large enough to kill them all. Its scales were a deep, mottled green, blending into the needles. Its eyes were amber, unblinking.
It didn't roar. It didn't charge. It simply watched.
Elara's bow came up. Kael shook his head sharply. "Not unless we have to."
The creature shifted, claws scraping wood. Then it leapt.
Kael shoved Elara aside as it slammed into the ground where she'd been standing, the impact shaking the moss. Its head darted toward Kael, jaws snapping shut inches from his arm.
He drew his blade and slashed, the steel sparking against its scales. The abyss surged in him, heat flooding his limbs. Strike deeper.
Halric roared, swinging his hammer into the dragon's flank. The blow staggered it, but only for a heartbeat. It whipped its tail, catching Halric in the chest and throwing him into a tree.
Kael pressed forward, aiming for the softer joint beneath its jaw. The blade bit, and the dragon shrieked — not in pain, but in fury.
Elara's arrow struck its eye. The creature reared, thrashing, blood streaming down its snout.
Kael seized the opening. He drove his sword into its throat, pushing until the hilt met scale. Hot blood washed over his hands.
The dragon shuddered, then collapsed, its breath rattling once before stilling.
Silence returned, heavier than before.
Kael yanked his blade free, breathing hard.
Halric staggered to his feet, rubbing his ribs. "That wasn't full-grown."
"No," Kael said. He wiped his sword clean on the moss. "Which means the mother is still out here."
They moved on without speaking, the boy's small hand clenched tight around Elara's. The air smelled stronger now — the same copper tang, mingled with the faintest trace of smoke.
Kael didn't know if it came from the hunters or the dragon's kin. Either way, the Northwoods had bled once today. It would bleed again before they left.
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