A child ran lost through southern forests; a Luna remained trapped behind wards of ancient design; and Kade Nightshade kept cutting through darkness with a single-minded drive. The night was only beginning, and the peace of Silver Ridge felt, for now, like a fragile island in a widening tide.
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The serpent lay motionless among the tangled roots, but something in its posture had changed.
Earlier it had carried itself with the easy indifference of an apex predator—scales gleaming in the dim light, coils loose and untroubled.
Now every coil was drawn in tighter, the great body held low to the damp earth. Its golden eyes no longer flicked lazily toward Takoda; they fixed, unblinking, on the concealed opening above.
The shift was subtle and terrible in its clarity. Takoda saw it at once.
