Razor thin branches slapped at our faces, stinging our ankles and any visible piece of skin. The darkness was all consuming, the shadows thick as they surrounded us like the heavy fabric of a cloak.

If only they protected us the way a cloak would, if only they offered their assistance as they had numerous times in the past.

Something changed since I got my magic, and that something was big enough to alter the way the shadows acted around me.

In the past, they’d jump at the opportunity to be of