Chapter 79 Where It Remembers

• Amelia P.O.V.
• The deeper we go, the harder it becomes to ignore the pull. It isn’t just ahead anymore or buried beneath the ground—it’s everywhere, pressing in from all sides and tightening the further we go. It threads through the forest like something alive, something aware. And the worst part is that it doesn’t feel unfamiliar. It feels like something I should recognize.
• Kieran stays close at my side, close enough that I can feel the tension in him without looking. Each step deeper pulls something sharper out of him, something more instinctive than controlled. It isn’t just awareness—it’s reaction. Protective, immediate, and building.