They left the narrow mountain paths for dense forest trails. Fin's brow furrowed as he glanced at Lina, his worry clear. Sofia kept her eyes fixed on Lina, studying her intently. Galdreth deliberately looked away whenever Lina met his gaze.
Lina hunched her shoulders, gripping her elbows, knuckles white. Elevation or company—she couldn't tell—but each breath was shallow and tight.
The further they pushed into the woods, the fewer travelers they saw.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
"Time to set camp," Fin ordered.
They dismounted. Fin helped Lina while Galdreth took Chewy's reins. Lina pressed her fingers against her splinted arm, biting her lip.
Nothing. No pain. She blinked rapidly, a numbness settling over her like frost, leaving her disoriented.
Only a cold, hollow absence—far worse than pain. A memory flickered, just out of reach.
Something had changed. She was sure of it.
'This should hurt. I should hurt.'
"No!" Sofia shrieked.
"What?" Galdreth called out, Chewy's saddle in hand.
"Re-saddle the horses. We can't camp here."
Fin's voice reached Lina. "What's wrong, Sofia?"
Sofia pointed to a barren patch of woods: trees burned to stumps, soil black as obsidian.
"Sofia…"
"Look closer," Sofia pleaded.
Fin stepped onto the scorched soil to investigate, but Sofia grabbed his arm, shook her head, and stopped him.
Uneven mounds dotted the ground, some shallow graves uncovered.
The soil wasn't fully broken. Only… disturbed.
Like something beneath it had tried to move—and stopped.
Lina fought to steady her breathing, clapping a trembling hand over her mouth to hold back a gasp. Her chest constricted painfully, her eyes stinging with unshed tears as dread crept up her spine.
The others recoiled, Lina saw.
She didn't.
"This wasn't here before." Sofia shook her head and mounted again.
Galdreth walked over to Lina and helped her mount her horse.
"We won't be able to go too far tonight," Fin said.
"Far enough." Sofia nudged her horse to a trot.
"We can't avoid it forever, not where we're headed."
Lina watched as Sofia led their group away from the graves.
"Sofia, it's war. Things will get worse before they get better."
"Yes, Fin. But, I'll feel safer when we reach our destination."
"Why is she so uneasy?" Lina asked no one in particular.
Galdreth seemed to choke on his words but didn't answer. He just stared at Lina.
"You want to sleep near graves when the enemy is a necromancer?" Sofia asked, incredulous.
Enemy?
"What does the war have to do with us?" Lina asked.
"The undead attacked your home!" Sofia growled.
"I see."
"Lina?"
"Leave her, Sofia. She hit her head pretty hard," Fin said.
Lina thought back to the charred ground. When she looked at it, she felt nothing.
That should have frightened her. It didn't.
She flexed her fingers.
Why didn't it hurt?
"Neither Kingdom is protecting their people," Sofia hissed. "Kingdoms aren't controlling the war, and civilians are the ones hurt. Not the nobility or mages."
"This is far enough," Fin announced at another clearing and dismounted.
Lina hesitated.
Sofia slid off her horse.
"You know that I'm right, Fin."
"I know, Sofia."
Fin untacked his horse in silence. Lina slid off Chewy and tried to loosen the saddle one-handed. Seeing her difficulty, Fin walked over and took over loosening the saddle for her.
"…your arm."
Her body didn't hurt. The soil along the path was churned, as if something had moved beneath. The world fractured—and so did she.
"Lina?" Fin frowned.
"What?"
"I asked how your arm was?"
"It's fine," she answered.
Sofia scoffed.
The war. The graves. Her injury. The words battered at the walls inside her, echoing until her thoughts shook, but meaning nothing. They thudded dully in her chest, leaving her even more hollow, an ache where feeling should have been.
It all should have mattered more.
None of it did.