Nightfall had sunk fully into the trees around them, casting the dense forest in a heavy darkness that seemed to shift and press from all sides. The branches twisted like skeletal fingers, and the low rustling of leaves overhead merged with distant wails from unseen creatures, sending chills prickling along Aira's skin.
Aira's thoughts churned, part of her lost in the memory of the shrine and the odd whisper that now tickled at the back of her mind, a faint pull that made her uneasy. Was it the dragon's presence, she wondered, or was this just some lingering effect of the shrine's magic? She glanced at Kellan, half expecting him to share in her caution, but he strode forward unbothered as if he belonged among the darkened trees and looming shadows.
