{"The mountains are calling, and I must go" }
RITA'S POV
The deeper we moved into Sagstone Mountain, the more the world narrowed—stone walls pressed in on either side, the air thick with ancient silence and the sharp bite of minerals. Every footstep echoed like a whisper from something older than time.
Flora walked ahead, her flame-threaded hair catching bits of light from the small lantern she carried. She didn't speak. Neither did I. We didn't need to.
Because I felt it and Not just the shift in temperature, or the way the wind had stopped entirely—but something beneath the surface. Wrong.
My skin prickled, and the familiar weight stirred deep in my bones with the realization that Something was here. Something that shouldn't be.
Flora turned slightly. "You feel it too, don't you?"
I nodded slowly, letting my hand brush the damp stone beside me. "They're not far. Just past the hollow ridge… cloaking themselves, but not well enough."
