Elsbeth
The tunnel beneath MoonHaven was colder than I remembered.
We descended in silence, lantern light flickering off the wet stone walls as Elder StormClaw led the way. The air down here was heavy—thick with old magic and newer fear, the kind that had been tamped down but not buried. My boots scuffed softly against the ancient stone floor, echoing just enough to make the silence feel deeper.
We'd tested the fallback. We'd walked the perimeter. Now came the part I dreaded most.
"Here," StormClaw said, stopping in front of a carved stone panel set into the wall. It looked like nothing—just part of the tunnel. But when he reached for a hidden catch near the floor and twisted it, the panel clicked open with a groan, revealing a narrow offshoot tunnel.
"The new path," he said. "To the lake's southern edge. It opens at the cove—where your people will begin preparing boats."
He stepped aside.
Fen and I slipped inside.
