The woods grew darker the deeper Seamus went. There was no wind, no movement, not even the faintest stir of air. The forest felt hollow, drained of life.
The soil beneath his boots was pitch black, so were the trees, stripped bare of leaves and grass. It was as though the entire place had been burned and left to rot in silence.
No beasts. No birds. Not a single sound. Yet he could feel eyes on him—hundreds of them—watching from the dark.
The weight of unseen gazes crawled along his skin, making the back of his neck tighten with unease.
Still, he was less afraid than he should have been, for someone was walking ahead of him. The man who had followed him here.
His name remained unknown, but he moved with unhurried steps, one hand hidden in his cloak while the other held the bracelet, the dim light of its core pulsing like a dying ember.
"Hmm. A Vitalis Core embedded within the structure," the man murmured, tilting the bracelet in the gloom.
