Chapter 4 — Echoes of the Past

Emilia

The forest was quiet, but it was a deceptive silence, pressing against Emilia’s ears like the weight of a storm gathering on the horizon. The mist curling through the pines in Crescent Hollow was thicker than usual tonight, clinging to the undergrowth and muting the sounds of nocturnal creatures. The moon hung high above, its light filtering through the canopy, casting shifting shadows that seemed to writhe with each step she took.