The forest had grown darker by the time they reached the outer edge of the den's territory.
Not with corruption—at least not the creeping, sickly corruption that plagued the grove—but with the thick shadows of towering ancient trees whose branches knitted together high above the forest floor. The canopy swallowed most of the fading sunlight, leaving the ground bathed in soft green twilight.
Lizzy had ridden the rest of the way on Vaelis's back with the pair only making one additional stop. The system had been right about the voracious appetites of unicorn shifters. It was as if the bond that now pressed upon the back of her mind was providing Vaelis with a steady stream of arousal. That same pulse seemed to echo with the unicorn's breathing. Even though they were farther away from the ley line and the hub that had been set to healing with Lizzy's magic, the warmth of it wound through the forest.
