Chapter 61: The Unyielding Gloom
The air over the Roseate Trench was a tomb-cold, silent cathedral. The Kestrel rocked in the sluggish current, a tiny leaf on a vast, pale altar. Elara's breath fogged in the chill as she settled deeper into the secured cradle with Aurora, the journal open on her lap. The constellation drawing seemed absurdly fragile against the scale of the decaying seascape.
"Begin," Kaelen said, his voice a low vibration in the stillness. He stood braced at the bow, his eyes not on the Trench's mouth, but on the water immediately around their boat, watching for any physical change.
