I followed the narrow dirt path that curved into the forest, keeping my pace steady while Lucy and Liza walked slightly behind me. The entrance itself wasn't complicated, just an archway of thick branches pulling together naturally, but the moment we crossed beneath it the atmosphere shifted. The distant sounds of the shoreline faded away almost instantly. Even the subtle breeze that had followed us from the docks vanished like it had hit an invisible barrier.
I didn't say anything at first. I just kept walking, letting my senses adjust to the quiet. The forest wasn't dense enough to feel suffocating, but it had its own weight to it—like the trees were standing and watching. The path forked almost immediately, splitting into three smaller trails, none labeled and none obviously safer than the others.
