Night had fully settled over the eastern forests of Nalim by the time Liam and Charlotte finally resumed moving.
The outcrop and temporary shelter were long behind them now.
Smoke moved ahead through the darkness with silent precision while Liam and Charlotte followed several meters behind beneath the dense canopy. Moonlight barely pierced through the thick branches above, leaving most of the forest drowned beneath layers of shadow and pale silver darkness.
For Liam, the lack of visibility changed nothing.
For Charlotte, it changed even less.
The beast mage moved through the forest with disturbing ease despite now being fully back in her human form. Even without her beast-dominant transformation active, her movements still carried traces of unnatural fluidity. Her footsteps barely made noise against the forest floor, and several times Liam noticed her adjusting direction moments before obstacles or uneven terrain appeared ahead.
Her senses remained sharp.
