Chapter 23
Jayde’s foot got caught under a tree root, causing her to stumble and fall. Ryuu turned in the blink of an eye, grabbed her so she didn’t fall flat on her face. She blushed, smiled at him, and pulled away. He gently took hold of her hand again and kept walking like nothing had happened, though he walked a little bit slower to accommodate her shorter legs.
Within a few more minutes of walking, the trees started to thin out, moonlight shining brighter through the canopy of leaves. She heard the sound of seagulls and what she thought were waves hitting cliffs. She frowned when she looked around Ryuu to see the edge of the trees coming up, realizing they were literally on the other side of the forest now. They slowed to a stop at the treeline, looking over the huge expansion of space that ended abruptly over what Jayde assumed was either the Pacific Ocean or a huge lake.