Day 27: Vex’s Journal

I woke up with the storm still in my bones. My stomach was a hollow thing, but the real ache was in my chest—like the river stones I’ve been chasing since dawn had left a mark on me. I found myself near the old ruins again, the way I do every time the wind picks up. Zhraa’s voice was still ringing in my ears: *Did you feel that pulse in your claws?* I thought I’d be scared to go back there, but the ruins feel like a place where the world bends, where the river stones whisper. I can’t stop thinking about what Klyraeon said—the way the stones seemed to glow in the dark, like the river was alive. I’ve been trying to follow that rhythm, but it’s not a clock. It’s a heartbeat. And sometimes, when the storm’s close, I think I hear it too. Maybe that’s why I keep coming back. Maybe the stones are waiting for me to remember what the river meant before it got lost.