The morning light filtered through the dense canopy of the forest, casting long shadows over our makeshift camp. The air was crisp and cool, the kind that seeped into your bones and made you pull your cloak tighter around you.
I lay on the ground, the rough texture of the earth beneath me a stark contrast to the soft warmth of Aurelia's body pressed close to mine. The events of the previous day had left us exhausted, our sleep dreamless and deep at least for her.
I couldn't shake the memory of the nightmare that had clawed at me in the darkness. Even now, the remnants of that terror lingered at the edges of my consciousness, like a dark cloud that refused to dissipate.
