C52 The Path Rekindled

The Hollowpine did not resist their departure.

Where once the forest had swallowed sound and light, now it guided them. The silver-glow path returned, wider than before, gently illuminated by strands of light threading between branches overhead.

Evelyne led in silence.

The thirteenth flame pulsed low beneath her skin, not consuming—anchoring. Her footsteps struck the earth with new weight