The woods were unnervingly still as Aria followed Elena beyond the sanctuary's protective runes. The air grew colder with every step, whispering with secrets and unseen eyes. Above them, moonlight filtered through the leaves in thin, silvery beams, casting fractured shadows across the forest floor.
They walked in silence until Elena paused at a ridge, where the cliff dropped steeply into a mist-filled valley. It was a place Aria remembered from their childhood—a secret overlook they had once called the "whispering ledge," where they'd told each other dreams and secrets, where laughter had echoed through the trees like bells.
Elena stood with her arms wrapped around herself, back straight but trembling. The moon caught the curve of her jaw, her expression hard to read.
"You asked to talk," Aria said softly, her voice catching in her throat.
Elena nodded, eyes fixed on the horizon. "Do you remember the day I… drowned?"
Aria flinched. Her throat tightened. "I never forgot it."
