The cave swallowed their footsteps in frantic echoes.
Before, they had crept through this place like mice slipping through the cracks of a sleeping dragon's lair — slow, measured, deliberate. Every crunch of sand beneath their boots had been treated like the toll of a war drum.
But now? Now they ran.
Ilyrana led the way, her stride swift and sure, weaving between jagged stones and sweeping stalagmites like water through a riverbed. The dim glow from bioluminescent moss streaking the cave walls blurred into passing smudges of ghostly green. Her silhouette was sharp, fluid, and utterly fearless.
Luke followed, lungs burning, heart clawing against his ribs like a caged beast.
He no longer had his phone in his hand — no time to check, no light to risk, no seconds to waste. Before, he had used it like a lifeline, flashing the beam ahead to scan for hazards, making sure each step landed true. But not now. Now he just trusted her.
He had to.
