“We stick to the plan,” I reply firmly. “We wait for sunrise. If Wolf’s gold is here, we find it before they can regroup.”
Richard sinks onto a rock, looking utterly defeated. “Margret... I never thought she would...”
“She feels betrayed,” Lana says gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You kept your connection to Thomas Wolf secret from her for years.”
“To protect her,” he insists weakly.
“Intentions don’t matter much when trust is broken,” I observe, keeping my voice low. “But we can sort that out later. Right now, we need to focus on why we’re here.”
Chapter 29
Lana
I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold on to some heat. After being discovered, Caleb made a small fire, but it still didn’t ward of the chill. With Hawthorne and his men lurking in the shadows and Margret’s betrayal still fresh, none of us can even think about sleep. We huddle together under the rocky overhang, speaking in whispers when we speak at all.
“It’ll be light soon,” I murmur, checking my watch for what feels like the hundredth time. The display reads 5:49 AM—less than an hour until sunrise.
Caleb sits beside me, a solid anchor in this increasingly dangerous situation. His eyes never stop scanning our surroundings, watching for any movement that might signal Hawthorne’s return.
“Do you think they’re still out there?” Julia asks, her voice barely audible.
“Count on it,” Caleb replies grimly, draping his arm around me. “They didn’t come all this way just to leave empty-handed.”
Richard hasn’t spoken since Margret left. He sits slightly apart from the rest of us, his expression haunted. I can’t imaginehow he’s feeling. Decades of research, of carrying this burden alone, only to have the person he was trying to protect turn against him.
The fire is now out, and the minutes crawl by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Hawk and Nightingale maintain their vigilance, occasionally communicating through hand signals that I don’t understand. The eastern sky gradually lightens, darkness giving way to the pale gray of approaching dawn.
“Almost time,” Richard says suddenly, rousing himself from his stupor. He checks his notes one final time, then gestures toward the wolf marking below. “We need to be down there when the first rays hit.”
Caleb nods, signaling for Hawk to check the area. After a tense moment, Hawk gives the all-clear sign.
“Move quickly, stay low,” Caleb instructs as we begin our careful descent to the waterfall basin.
The air feels charged with anticipation as we position ourselves near the wolf-marked stone. The sky continues to brighten, pink and gold streaking the horizon to the east. I find myself holding my breath as the first golden rays of the equinox sun pierce through the trees.
“There,” Richard whispers urgently, pointing to the stone.
As the sunlight touches the wolf marking, something extraordinary happens. The etched lines begin to glow with an otherworldly blue luminescence, as if the stone itself has awakened. I gasp, unable to contain my amazement as the light intensifies, revealing details invisible before—the wolf’s eye, thecurve of its jaw, and most importantly, a clear arrow pointing downstream.
“Thomas Wolf, you clever man,” Richard breathes, his eyes wide with wonder.
“We need to follow it,” I say, already moving in the direction the arrow indicates.
Caleb catches my arm. “Carefully,” he cautions. “Remember, we’re being watched.”
He’s right. I take a deep breath, steadying myself. “So we make it look like we’re heading back to the vehicles,” I suggest. “Like we found nothing and we’re giving up.”
“Exactly,” he agrees. “Just a group of disappointed researchers calling it a day.”
We gather our equipment with deliberate casualness, making sure our disappointment is visible to any watching eyes. Julia, catching on quickly, gives an exaggerated sigh and kicks at a stone.
“All this way for nothing,” she says loudly. “What a waste of a perfectly good camping trip. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for ruining our camping trip!”
Richard follows her lead, slumping his shoulders as he packs away his notebook. “Perhaps I was mistaken about the significance of this location,” he announces, his voice carrying clearly. “We should head back and reconsider our research.”
We begin making our way downstream, following the arrow’s direction while appearing to head toward our exit route. I keep my eyes fixed on the ground, scanning for anything unusual, anything that doesn’t belong.
The early morning light filters through the trees, creating dappled patterns on the rocky riverbank. We walk slowly, our movements casual but our senses hyperalert. Hawk and Nightingale have positioned themselves to cover our flanks, their vigilance unobtrusive but constant.
