Chapter 43 Esmeralda's Pov

• We trudged through the snow, Corin leading the way with silent efficiency. The cold bit at my exposed skin, but I barely felt it over the storm of questions swirling in my mind. The way Corin had looked at me… I couldn’t shake it. He knew something, something about me, and it made my stomach twist in uneasy knots.
• The forest grew denser as we moved, the trees closing in around us, their gnarled branches forming a dark canopy above. Ryker stayed close, his eyes darting toward every shadow, while Ocean brought up the rear, his blade still at the ready. Arydyn walked beside me, his breath coming in tired puffs, but his gaze remained sharp, despite his weariness.
• “We’re here,” Corin announced suddenly, stopping in front of a massive tree whose trunk seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky.