The woods were never silent. Not truly. Even in the witching hour, life murmured in the thickets, whispered beneath brambles, and sighed through the ancient trees like a lullaby meant only for the restless. Owls hooted, leaves rustled, and somewhere distant, a fox's cry sliced through the cool night air. But tonight, all of that faded into uneasy stillness.
Tonight, the woods held its breath.
Selena moved forward with cautious steps, each crunch of dead leaves beneath her boots loud in the ominous hush. The forest surrounding the Valerio estate was suffused with a darkness unlike before—thicker, deeper, as if the very trees sensed the calamity stirring beneath their roots. The moon, a thin sliver, barely pierced the dense canopy, casting sickly pale light on the twisted branches overhead. Cold seeped into her bones. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, but the chill wasn't just in the air.
