Chapter 14: The Sunstone Sentinel

The Ashvale shelter was a cavern hidden behind a waterfall, its air thick with the scent of damp stone and woodsmoke. Kaelen’s people were courteous but distant, their help pragmatic. An older woman with skilled hands reset Emilia’s twisted ankle, binding it tightly with herbs that cooled the fiery pain. They shared a simple meal of roasted game, but the silence was heavy with unspoken history. “You cannot remain,” Kaelen stated as night fell, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance. “We are survivors, not warriors. We cannot protect you from what Wesley will send. Your presence here endangers the little we have left.” Leo nodded grimly. He understood the calculus of survival. “We’ll leave at first light.” “Where?” Emilia asked, the word tasting of despair. The Dead Man’s Pass was now behind them, but ahead lay only more unknown wilderness. “East,” Kaelen said, his voice low. “Through the Serpent’s Maw canyon. It is a risk… but on the oth