[Dark Forest—Midnight—LAVINIA'S POV]
The forest was… too quiet. Too damn quiet for midnight, where the wind whispered like a thousand secrets and the crickets' chirps echoed like tiny, mocking taunts.
And here we were—me and Marshi—standing at the very center of the forest road, utterly stuck.
Because right in front of us… two roads. Two wide, yawning paths stretching into darkness. And we? Completely clueless. Totally flummoxed. Completely outsmarted by… a single man.
"Marshi…" I muttered, perching on my horse and staring at the twin roads as if they might scream out the answer for me. My fingers tapped on the reins, a nervous rhythm I couldn't quite stop. "Which way do you think he went?"
Marshi gave a low growl, ears flicking; his eyes said nothing helpful.
"Thanks, that helps… so much." I glared at him. "You're…really good at this, aren't you? Giving me… absolutely zero guidance."
