The bear stayed close, pausing often to check behind her, emitting low, breathy chuffs like sonar pulses. Her pace never quickened. If anything, she seemed to be gauging their commitment. Elias watched her from the deck, heart thudding harder now. “Henrik…”
“Yeah?” “If she’s leading us somewhere… what are we gonna find?” Henrik didn’t answer. He just tightened his grip on the wheel and kept following her into the fog. The sky had started to turn. At first, it was just a subtle bruising along the horizon—a smudge of steel blue where clouds gathered in silence.