diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 964783a8..83ac1cc0 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.5.13
+0.5.14
diff --git a/nostr_core/core_relay_pool.c b/nostr_core/core_relay_pool.c
index 05e8cbe1..f8ff8690 100644
--- a/nostr_core/core_relay_pool.c
+++ b/nostr_core/core_relay_pool.c
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@ struct nostr_pool_subscription {
 
     // Per-relay timeout tracking
     time_t* relay_last_activity;                 // Last activity time per relay
+
+    // Guard to ensure on_eose is emitted only once per subscription
+    int eose_callback_fired;
 };
 
 struct nostr_relay_pool {
@@ -957,9 +960,9 @@ int nostr_pool_subscription_close(nostr_pool_subscription_t* subscription) {
     if (!subscription || subscription->closed) {
         return NOSTR_ERROR_INVALID_INPUT;
     }
-    
+
     subscription->closed = 1;
-    
+
     // Send CLOSE messages to all relays
     for (int i = 0; i < subscription->relay_count; i++) {
         relay_connection_t* relay = find_relay_by_url(subscription->pool, subscription->relay_urls[i]);
@@ -967,7 +970,7 @@ int nostr_pool_subscription_close(nostr_pool_subscription_t* subscription) {
             nostr_relay_send_close(relay->ws_client, subscription->subscription_id);
         }
     }
-    
+
     // Remove from pool
     nostr_relay_pool_t* pool = subscription->pool;
     for (int i = 0; i < pool->subscription_count; i++) {
@@ -980,7 +983,7 @@ int nostr_pool_subscription_close(nostr_pool_subscription_t* subscription) {
             break;
         }
     }
-    
+
     // Cleanup subscription
     cJSON_Delete(subscription->filter);
     for (int i = 0; i < subscription->relay_count; i++) {
@@ -988,11 +991,55 @@ int nostr_pool_subscription_close(nostr_pool_subscription_t* subscription) {
     }
     free(subscription->relay_urls);
     free(subscription->eose_received);
+    free(subscription->relay_last_activity);
+    if (subscription->collected_events) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < subscription->collected_event_count; i++) {
+            cJSON_Delete(subscription->collected_events[i]);
+        }
+        free(subscription->collected_events);
+    }
     free(subscription);
-    
+
     return NOSTR_SUCCESS;
 }
 
+static int maybe_complete_subscription_eose(nostr_pool_subscription_t* sub) {
+    if (!sub || sub->closed || sub->eose_callback_fired) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    int all_eose = 1;
+    for (int j = 0; j < sub->relay_count; j++) {
+        if (!sub->eose_received[j]) {
+            all_eose = 0;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (!all_eose) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    sub->eose_callback_fired = 1;
+
+    if (sub->on_eose) {
+        // FIRST mode: no events collected, pass NULL/0
+        if (sub->result_mode == NOSTR_POOL_EOSE_FIRST) {
+            sub->on_eose(NULL, 0, sub->user_data);
+        } else {
+            // FULL_SET or MOST_RECENT: pass collected events
+            sub->on_eose(sub->collected_events, sub->collected_event_count, sub->user_data);
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (sub->close_on_eose && !sub->closed) {
+        nostr_pool_subscription_close(sub);
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
 // Event processing
 static void process_relay_message(nostr_relay_pool_t* pool, relay_connection_t* relay, const char* message) {
     if (!pool || !relay || !message) {
@@ -1032,6 +1079,15 @@ static void process_relay_message(nostr_relay_pool_t* pool, relay_connection_t*
                     }
 
                     if (sub) {
+                        // Track per-relay activity for timeout fallback.
+                        time_t now = time(NULL);
+                        for (int j = 0; j < sub->relay_count; j++) {
+                            if (strcmp(sub->relay_urls[j], relay->url) == 0) {
+                                sub->relay_last_activity[j] = now;
+                                break;
+                            }
+                        }
+
                         // Check for duplicate (per-subscription deduplication)
                         int is_duplicate = 0;
                         if (sub->enable_deduplication) {
@@ -1099,32 +1155,15 @@ static void process_relay_message(nostr_relay_pool_t* pool, relay_connection_t*
                             }
                         }
                         
-                        // Check if all relays have sent EOSE
-                        int all_eose = 1;
+                        // Keep activity updated on explicit EOSE from this relay
                         for (int j = 0; j < sub->relay_count; j++) {
-                            if (!sub->eose_received[j]) {
-                                all_eose = 0;
+                            if (strcmp(sub->relay_urls[j], relay->url) == 0) {
+                                sub->relay_last_activity[j] = time(NULL);
                                 break;
                             }
                         }
-                        
-                        if (all_eose) {
-                            if (sub->on_eose) {
-                                // Pass collected events based on result mode
-                                if (sub->result_mode == NOSTR_POOL_EOSE_FIRST) {
-                                    // FIRST mode: no events collected, pass NULL/0
-                                    sub->on_eose(NULL, 0, sub->user_data);
-                                } else {
-                                    // FULL_SET or MOST_RECENT: pass collected events
-                                    sub->on_eose(sub->collected_events, sub->collected_event_count, sub->user_data);
-                                }
-                            }
 
-                            // Auto-close subscription if close_on_eose is enabled
-                            if (sub->close_on_eose && !sub->closed) {
-                                nostr_pool_subscription_close(sub);
-                            }
-                        }
+                        (void)maybe_complete_subscription_eose(sub);
                         break;
                     }
                 }
@@ -2018,5 +2057,39 @@ int nostr_relay_pool_poll(nostr_relay_pool_t* pool, int timeout_ms) {
         }
     }
 
+    // Timeout fallback for relays that never emit EOSE:
+    // if no activity from a relay for relay_timeout_seconds, treat it as done.
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    for (int i = 0; i < pool->subscription_count; i++) {
+        nostr_pool_subscription_t* sub = pool->subscriptions[i];
+        if (!sub || sub->closed || sub->eose_callback_fired) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (sub->relay_timeout_seconds <= 0) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        int changed = 0;
+        for (int j = 0; j < sub->relay_count; j++) {
+            if (sub->eose_received[j]) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            if (sub->relay_last_activity &&
+                now - sub->relay_last_activity[j] >= sub->relay_timeout_seconds) {
+                sub->eose_received[j] = 1;
+                changed = 1;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (changed) {
+            if (maybe_complete_subscription_eose(sub)) {
+                // Subscription list may have shifted due to auto-close.
+                i--;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     return events_processed;
 }
diff --git a/nostr_core/nostr_core.h b/nostr_core/nostr_core.h
index 6c694f59..877971b0 100644
--- a/nostr_core/nostr_core.h
+++ b/nostr_core/nostr_core.h
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 #define NOSTR_CORE_H
 
 // Version information (auto-updated by increment_and_push.sh)
-#define VERSION "v0.5.13"
+#define VERSION "v0.5.14"
 #define VERSION_MAJOR 0
 #define VERSION_MINOR 5
-#define VERSION_PATCH 13
+#define VERSION_PATCH 14
 
 /*
  * NOSTR Core Library - Complete API Reference