POV: APHRODITE
The ancient presence isn't hiding anymore.
I feel it pressing against the edges of camp like a physical weight. Everyone is on their feet, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the darkness beyond our fire's light.
"What is it?" Cassian asks, his voice tight with tension.
"I don't know," I admit. "But it's been tracking us for hours. Maybe days."
Through the bond, I feel the twins' reactions. Draco's protective instinct surging. Lucen's strategic mind calculating threats and escape routes. Both of them position themselves between me and the forest without consciously deciding to.
"Can you see it?" Bastien asks, his hand steady on his blade despite the fear I can smell on all of them.
"No," I answer. "But I can feel it. It's massive. Old. Powerful."
Lyra stays close to me, her human senses unable to detect what we all feel but trusting our reactions. "Should we run?" Lyra asks quietly.
"Too late," I say. "It's already here."
