Kaelis felt the gaze before he saw the figure.

  High above, on a distant ridge, someone stood watching the plains below. The silhouette didn’t move. Didn’t radiate hostility. But it didn’t hide either.

  Kaelis stopped walking.

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  Minutes passed.

  Neither advanced.

  Finally, the figure turned away and vanished, as if satisfied.

  Kaelis exhaled slowly. That presence had been different from the unseen pressure he’d felt before. This was personal. Intentional. Someone capable of restraint.

  Not a predator. Not prey.

  An observer.

  Kaelis continued forward, tension lingering in his shoulders. Whoever that was, they had chosen not to interfere. For now.

  But the world had just grown smaller—and far more dangerous.