After hours of pushing through twisted trees and choking mist, the shadows of the witch's domain slowly faded behind them.
The air grew lighter with every step, and the strange, heavy silence that had followed them through the dark woods gradually loosened its grip.
Kael was the first to notice.
He slowed slightly and glanced up through the branches.
Light.
Real light.
Not the dim gray glow that had filtered weakly through the witch's forest, but the pale gold of morning sunlight.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Stepping out of that darkness felt less like escape and more like being released.
Edris lifted his eyes.
The canopy above them had opened just enough for the sun to spill down in long streaks across the forest floor. Dust and pollen drifted lazily through the light, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the air smelled clean.
They had crossed the boundary.
Behind them, the dark forest lay quiet and distant.
Kael let out a slow breath.
