Kael stopped walking.
The forest path stretched ahead, narrow and overgrown. Roots crossed the dirt like veins. Above, the sky showed in fragments through the canopy—dark and starless.
He'd been walking for several hours since leaving the village. He looked around. Trees. Underbrush. Silence.
Kael let out a slow breath. He was tired. The kind of tired that settled into bones and stayed there. His legs felt heavy. His sword felt heavier.
He stepped off the path and pushed through the brush until he found a small clearing. Flat ground. A fallen log. Good enough.
Kael dropped his pack and sat down. The moment his weight left his legs, his shoulders sagged, his head drooped forward. He stared at the dirt between his boots.
Too much had happened in too few days.
Kael pressed his palms against his face. He wanted the thoughts to stop.
They did not.
"There's nothing I can do."
