For the first time, I was walking with a team.
It felt strange.
Not bad.
Just strange.
I had spent so much of my life moving through Silvercrest alone that I wasn't used to having people beside me.
Usually, when I patrolled, I listened to the forest by myself.
If I stopped, nobody asked why.
If I changed direction, nobody questioned it.
If I noticed something unusual, I could investigate it without having to explain myself.
Now, there were five other wolves around me.
Kieran walked near the front.
Callen was beside him, occasionally talking to one of the warriors.
Two other patrollers followed behind us.
I wasn't completely sure what my position in the group was supposed to be.
I was simply there.
Part of the team.
For once, nobody had forgotten to include me.
That alone felt unusual.
The eastern forest stretched ahead of us.
Morning sunlight slipped through the branches, creating moving patches of light across the ground.
The forest looked peaceful.
Almost too peaceful.
I kept my eyes moving.
Left.
Right.
Ahead.
Behind.
The others were doing the same.
We had been warned to take everything seriously.
No unnecessary wandering.
No separating from the group.
No crossing the river without permission.
No approaching anything suspicious alone.
The rules were repeated so many times before we left that even Callen eventually complained.
"I think Garrick believes we're all five years old."
One of the warriors laughed.
Kieran shook his head.
"He's trying to keep us alive."
"Still."
Callen stepped over a fallen branch.
"I can survive a forest."
"You nearly fell into a ditch yesterday."
"That ditch came out of nowhere."
"It was six feet wide."
"I wasn't looking."
I smiled quietly.
Kieran noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Callen looked at me.
"She laughed at you."
"I didn't."
"You did."
I shook my head.
"I was just listening."
Callen grinned.
"That's what everyone says."
For a few minutes, the tension eased.
It almost felt normal.
Almost.
Then we passed a large oak.
I stopped.
Something about it felt familiar.
I turned my head.
The tree stood beside the trail, its thick roots pushing through the earth.
I had seen it before.
Not just seen it.
I remembered standing here.
My heart began beating faster.
The symbol.
The strange marking.
The three curved lines surrounding a small circle.
I had found it near the river.
Near a stone.
But there had been another marking farther back.
I remembered the tree.
I remembered the rough bark beneath my fingers.
I remembered the strange feeling that had settled over me when I first saw it.
My wolf stirred.
There.
I looked toward the others.
They were already several steps ahead.
I hesitated.
Should I say something?
"Wait."
The word almost escaped my mouth.
But I stopped myself.
What would I say?
I think I found something here before.
And then what?
There's a strange symbol that disappeared overnight.
Except...
Had it?
I wasn't completely sure anymore.
Maybe I had remembered the location incorrectly.
Maybe the symbol had been somewhere else.
Maybe I had been tired.
Maybe the forest had simply made everything look unfamiliar.
I glanced at Kieran.
He was speaking with Callen.
I looked back at the tree.
I needed to know.
Just once.
I stepped away from the path.
I didn't go far.
Only a few yards.
The tree stood exactly where I remembered it.
I crouched beside the roots.
My fingers brushed the bark.
Nothing.
No marking.
No scratches.
No symbol.
I frowned.
I moved around the tree.
Nothing.
I checked the other side.
Still nothing.
My stomach tightened.
"No..."
I whispered.
My wolf was silent.
That was somehow worse.
I remembered it.
I knew I did.
The symbol had been there.
I had drawn it.
Lysandra had seen my drawing.
She had warned me not to return alone.
And yet—
There was nothing.
I crouched lower and brushed away some leaves.
Maybe it had been covered.
Nothing.
I looked at the ground.
No disturbed earth.
No broken branches.
No sign that anyone had carved something into the tree and then removed it.
It was simply gone.
I stared at the bark.
For a moment, I wondered if I had imagined the whole thing.
Maybe the symbol hadn't been real.
Maybe the shadow I had seen had been a trick of the light.
Maybe the footsteps had belonged to an animal.
Maybe the eyes in the forest—
"Elara."
I froze.
I slowly turned.
Kieran stood several feet behind me.
His expression was questioning.
"What are you doing?"
I stood.
"Nothing."
He glanced at the tree.
"You walked away from the group."
"I know."
"Why?"
I looked at the tree again.
"I thought I remembered something."
"What?"
I hesitated.
"The tree."
Kieran looked at it.
"What about it?"
"I've been here before."
He waited.
I expected him to ask more.
He did.
"What happened here?"
I looked at the bark.
Nothing.
"I don't know."
He studied me.
"You don't know?"
I shook my head.
"I thought I saw something."
"What?"
I almost told him.
The words were there.
I could have explained everything.
The symbol.
The stone.
The strange feeling.
The presence.
But suddenly, I wasn't sure.
I looked at the tree again.
"What I thought I saw isn't here anymore."
Kieran stepped closer.
"Maybe someone removed it."
"Maybe."
"Or an animal damaged it."
"Maybe."
He looked at me.
"You don't sound convinced."
"I'm not."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "You should have told me."
I looked at him.
"About what?"
"If you saw something strange."
I looked away.
"I wasn't sure it was strange."
Kieran's expression softened.
"Still."
I didn't answer.
He didn't push.
That surprised me.
Instead, he looked toward the trail.
"We should go back."
I nodded.
"Yeah."
We started walking.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
But I couldn't stop looking over my shoulder.
The tree disappeared behind us.
Nothing followed.
Nothing moved.
Still, my wolf whispered.
It was there.
"I know."
Then why don't you tell him?
"Because I don't know what I saw."
She didn't answer.
I knew she wanted me to say more.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
We eventually caught up with the others.
Callen looked over his shoulder.
"There you are."
Kieran nodded.
"We're fine."
Callen looked at me.
"Everything okay?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
I nodded.
"Just checking something."
Callen didn't ask what.
We continued our patrol.
The rest of the route was uneventful.
Too uneventful.
No Shadowfen tracks.
No strange scents.
No disturbed markers.
Nothing.
By late afternoon, the team decided to head back.
The sun was already beginning to sink behind the trees.
We walked along the eastern trail in a loose formation.
I stayed toward the middle.
Kieran was ahead with Callen.
I was beginning to relax when another group appeared on the trail.
I recognized them immediately.
Maera Linton.
My stomach sank slightly.
Of course.
Maera stood at the front of her group, dressed neatly despite the hours spent in the forest.
She had always carried herself with a confidence that came naturally to someone who had grown up knowing exactly where she belonged.
Ranked.
Respected.
Well connected.
And unlike me, she had never needed to question whether she belonged among the important wolves.
Her eyes immediately went toward Kieran.
Then Callen.
She smiled.
"Kieran. Callen."
Callen brightened.
"Maera."
They had known each other since childhood.
That much was obvious.
Maera stepped closer.
"I didn't know your team had changed."
Callen shrugged.
"New assignments."
Her gaze shifted.
Toward me.
The smile remained.
But it changed.
Only slightly.
"Ah."
That one little sound said enough.
I kept walking.
Maera looked at Kieran.
"She's with you?"
Kieran nodded.
"Yes."
Maera smiled politely.
"Interesting."
Callen frowned slightly.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She looked at me.
"I just wasn't expecting it."
I gave her a small nod.
"Neither was I."
Her smile widened.
"Well, I suppose everyone has to contribute somehow."
The words sounded polite.
The meaning wasn't.
I said nothing.
Callen looked at her.
"She's part of the team."
"I didn't say she wasn't."
Maera's voice remained sweet.
"I was only surprised."
She turned toward Kieran.
"You've always preferred working with people you can rely on."
I felt the words land.
Kieran's expression hardened.
"She can handle herself."
Maera blinked.
"I'm sure she can."
Then she looked at me again.
"Especially after yesterday."
My stomach tightened.
She knew about the sparring.
Of course she did.
News traveled quickly in Silvercrest.
"Callen apparently told everyone," I said.
Callen raised both hands.
"I didn't tell everyone."
Maera smiled.
"It wasn't difficult to hear about."
I shrugged.
"It wasn't important."
Maera tilted her head.
"Perhaps."
There was another silence.
Kieran looked uncomfortable.
Callen seemed to realize the conversation was becoming unpleasant.
"We should get moving."
Maera nodded.
"Of course."
Then, just before we passed her, she stepped slightly closer to me.
"Take care of them, Elara."
I looked at her.
"They're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves."
Her smile stayed in place.
"I meant the team."
I knew exactly what she meant.
I simply smiled back.
"So did I."
For the first time, her expression faltered.
Only for a second.
Then she stepped aside.
We continued walking.
Once we were far enough away, Callen laughed.
"Well."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"You survived."
I rolled my eyes.
"Was I supposed to die?"
"With Maera?"
He shook his head.
"She's worse than any forest monster."
Kieran sighed.
"Callen."
"What?"
I smiled despite myself.
Kieran looked toward me.
"You okay?"
"Yes."
"She didn't bother you?"
I shrugged.
"She's always been like that."
He frowned.
"Always?"
"She's never liked me."
"Why?"
I thought about it.
"Because I'm me."
Kieran didn't seem satisfied with that answer.
But he didn't ask again.
We continued toward the village.
I looked back once.
Maera's group was already disappearing between the trees.
Then I looked ahead.
Kieran and Callen walked side by side.
The rest of the team followed.
And for some reason, I found myself thinking about the tree again.
The missing symbol.
The strange eyes.
The feeling that someone had been watching me.
I still didn't know what any of it meant.
Maybe nothing.
Maybe everything.
But one thing bothered me most.
The symbol hadn't simply been difficult to find.
It was gone.
Completely.
As if it had never existed.
I touched the small piece of paper tucked inside my pocket.
My original sketch.
Three curved lines.
One small circle.
I hadn't imagined that.
I couldn't have.
Could I?
I looked toward the forest one last time.
The trees stood quietly behind us.
And somewhere among them, I thought I saw movement.
I blinked.
Nothing.
I kept walking.
Maybe Lysandra's simplest advice was the only thing I needed to remember.
Be careful.
For now, that was enough.