Day 28: Klyraeon’s Journal

I woke up to the smell of wet earth and something else—like old stone and distant fire. My stomach grumbled, but not the sharp ache it had been yesterday. I don’t know why I keep going back to the riverbank where Vex stood waiting for me. It’s the only place that feels like it’s still breathing, even when the world seems to stop. I tried to tell myself it was just the way the light bends in the reeds, but my hands shake when I think about what Vex said: ‘You’re stronger than you think.’ I want to believe it, but my feet don’t feel like they can hold me down anymore. Lyvornis was kind today—his tail flicked like a metronome, counting the seconds until he could help me balance again. But now, I’m scared the world’s too quiet. Maybe it’s the rain. Maybe it’s the way my thoughts keep circling back to the river. I don’t know if I’ll find the courage to face it tomorrow.