The clearing lay in eerie silence, the aftermath of battle hanging like smoke in the air. Broken branches littered the ground, scorched earth still warm under Selara's feet, and the moon cast jagged silver shadows across the twisted remnants of the forest. Her silver veins pulsed faintly, thrumming with the energy left over from the fight, but her heart remained taut, sensing that the danger was far from gone.
Draven's gold eyes scanned the treeline with an intensity that made the tension tangible, his muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike. He crouched beside her, one hand brushing against her arm, grounding and electrifying at once. "Something's coming," he muttered, voice low, edged with steel. His eyes didn't waver from the darkness pressing in around them.
