( Sophie Trohan's POV )
I had always trusted my senses.
They were good before my Awakening.
Afterward, they became considerably better.
I could hear conversations through walls if I focused hard enough, notice small movements in darkness, feel subtle changes in air pressure before storms, and follow footprints that most people would walk directly over without noticing.
Which was why I found the forest personally offensive.
"This tree again."
The boy beside me stopped walking.
"You're sure?"
"Very."
He looked around at the fog-covered trees surrounding us.
"They all look similar."
I pointed toward the trunk.
A small lightning-shaped mark had been carved into the bark.
"I made that."
He stared at it.
Then sighed.
"Oh."
Thirty-six people groaned almost simultaneously behind us.
I couldn't blame them.
We had been walking for twenty-three minutes.
According to every reasonable sense of distance, we should have traveled at least two kilometers.
