Chapter 22 Shadows Of Betrayal

• It seemed as though the planet was holding its breath because the night was so calm. As I made my way through the dense woodland, I felt the terrible weight of the thick air bearing down on me. The moonlight was hardly visible through the overhead canopy, creating lengthy, unsettling shadows that appeared to move on their own. The only sound I could hear was the crunch of my footsteps on the leaves under me, but even that sounded muffled, as if the forest was filtering out all sounds.
• I muttered, "Sebastian," my voice quivering with a mix of dread and resolve. I needed to call out his name to remind myself that he was out there, somewhere, and that I was doing this for him, for us, even if I wasn't sure if he could hear me. I felt a sense of peace as the cold metal of my little blade tightened in my hands. It was an old dagger, its blade was engraved with marks I can't comprehend. It had been given to me by a village elder who assured me it would keep me safe. Since there wasn't anything else to hold onto I decided to keep it close, not like I believed him.
• With my progress into the forest, the trees grew closer to me, their twisted branches weaving a maze-like trail that seemed to continue on forever. The initial inklings that something was terribly wrong made my breath catch. The trees' leaves appeared to have been burnt by an invisible fire, since they were curling and turning black. I was uneasy because I could feel the nearly too-soft ground beneath my feet giving way at any second.