The elephant paused, head turned slightly as if to listen, and its dark eyes flicked back to Amara, conveying an unspoken message: follow. Taking a step forward, it seemed to watch her carefully, as though making sure she was following. Her breath caught. She had no real options left; running felt absurd now.
With a deep, shaky breath, she took her first step forward, drawn into the forest’s shadows. Each stride took them farther from the world she knew. Dense foliage closed around them, casting the path into shadow, but the elephant moved with purpose, leading her in a way that seemed too direct to be random.