Rowan shook his head as the disconcerting heaviness blanketed his mind. The only thing that existed was the white stag that held his gaze from amidst the trees. The last bit of his awareness struggled against it, and he paused.
When he tried to call out to Wren to tell him something was wrong, his voice wouldn't work. The words fizzled on his tongue, and the strange numbness erased his thoughts before they could do much more than float up from the depths of his awareness. His skin began to crawl, but even that seemed like something far away, a sensation belonging to someone else's body.
The stag snorted and stomped its hooves as it waited for Rowan to follow. He walked along after it, leaving Wren and Lysander behind. It didn't seem right that he should leave Wren's side, but it also felt like the natural thing to do. Rowan pushed against the fog and glanced one last time at Wren to see if he was coming with.
