Chapter 146

Kaelen

For the first time in days—maybe longer—I’m not listening for footsteps, or fire signatures, or the wrong kind of silence.

I’m listening to her breathe.

The ranger station is quiet in a way that feels earned, not fragile. Fire crackles low in the hearth, steady and controlled, casting warm light over stone walls and rough wood beams. Outside, the mountain sleeps. No leyline surges. No wards