Chapter 69 Look Closely

• I followed Alaric in silence as we deviated from the well-trod path, the jungle closing around us grows denser, wilder. The ground was soft, littered with leaves, and the rich scent of soil. The late afternoon sunlight dapples from the canopy above, lighting Alaric's broad back in shifting light and casting long shadows over the path.
• I don't even ask where we are going. Something in the way he moves, with a stillness, and measured steps holds me back and bids me to just follow.
• The sound of the crashing waves become fainter with each step forward as we travel deeper into the island, our steps drowned out by the endless hum of sea breeze. The further we go, the more untamed the land appears, as though we have travelled through time to a forgotten world.