Chapter 643 - The Dead Company (3)

Mikhailis steadied his breathing, letting the slow inhale push the tang of sap and dust deeper into his lungs while the muted exhale misted against the wood. Up close the arch felt less like timber and more like skin-warm stone, its grain shifting under his fingertips in soft throbs that answered the thumping behind his ribs. It's listening to us, he realized, thumb grazing a shallow knot that pulsed twice in acknowledgment, as though the tree wished him luck—or warned him to turn back.