~Amelia~
By sunrise, the whole territory was on full watch, but somehow I knew something bad was still going to happen when the second I stepped out of the house and caught that metallic smell drifting in with the wind.
It was not the usual forest damp or pack smoke, because this one had that nasty edge that always showed up when something dead had been left where it should not be.
Kaden noticed it too, because he slowed beside me and looked toward the east path without saying a word first, and Caleb, who had been waiting near the courtyard with a map board tucked under his arm, made this annoyed sound like he already knew what was happening before we found out.
“Tell me that smell is not what I think it is,” I brought up.
