DAWN'S POV
The night air in the Rogue Lands was thick with tension, the kind that clings to your skin like mist off the river. Bambi and I moved silently along the path from the scarred oak, our cloaks blending into the shadows. Her hand was in mine, small and warm, but I could feel the slight tremble through our bond. She was anxious, hopeful about Finn, but smart enough to know this screamed trap. I'd suspected it from the start, the note's wording, the urgency. Odessa's fingerprints were all over it, or maybe Jasper's. But we'd come prepared. Rafe, my rogue contact, had scouted ahead and signaled all clear from the border. No sign of Finn, but whispers of hired muscle lurking near the Whispering Caves.
