The hidden door creaked open fully, revealing a passage barely wide enough for a single person. Cold air drifted out, brushing Zelene's skin like a warning or an invitation—she couldn't tell which.
Ray immediately stepped forward.
"I'm going in first."
"No," Corvin said sharply. "We all go together."
Finn clutched his pack.
"Or we all don't go at all."
Zelene touched the edge of the opening.
"I'll go."
Three voices rose at once—
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"Zelene, are you crazy?"
She turned to them—calmly, but with that quiet firmness she rarely showed unless she truly meant it.
"Who do you think I am?"
Ray froze.
Corvin's throat tightened.
Finn blinked.
"I've survived this far," Zelene continued softly. "I crossed forests, deserts, the Crimson War… I fought soldiers, monsters, fate."
Her fingers curled slightly.
"I won't die in a tunnel."
Ray stepped closer, voice low. "…We don't want to lose you."
She smiled gently.
"You won't. Trust me."
Finn opened his mouth to argue again—but Corvin put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let her go," Corvin said quietly.
"She's not reckless. She's choosing this."
Ray shut his eyes, exhaled hard—then nodded once, though every muscle in him resisted.
"Zelene," he whispered. "Come back to us."
"I will."
And before she could talk herself out of it, she slipped into the narrow passage.
---
The Dark Between Stones
The moment the hidden door closed behind her, the world shrank.
Pitch dark.
Air thin.
Stone pressing close on both sides—barely enough room for four people to squeeze shoulder to shoulder. The passage was no more than a vein cut into the mountain, a secret artery only a select few knew existed.
Zelene pressed her palm against the right wall and began walking, sliding her hand along the cold surface to keep her balance.
Her breaths echoed softly, swallowed by the narrow tunnel.
She whispered to herself,
"Forward, Zelene. Just forward."
The ground sloped downward.
The air grew colder.
Every sound seemed too loud.
A drop of water fell from the ceiling.
A faint vibration trembled through the wall.
Then—
Light.
A warm flicker at the far end, drawing closer.
Zelene's blood turned to ice.
Voices.
Two villagers.
She couldn't make out their words, but their tone was urgent—unlike the calm, rehearsed cheer they'd shown earlier.
Zelene scanned the walls desperately.
There—
a slim break in the stone.
Barely a crack, barely large enough.
She slipped into it, chest brushing stone, breath caught in her throat.
She pressed herself against the cold wall, willing her heartbeat to quiet.
Two silhouettes passed by the main corridor—lanterns swaying, filling the narrow tunnel with orange glow.
"…search the hidden way…"
"…she must not see him…"
"…the elder said—"
Their voices faded.
Zelene didn't breathe until the light withdrew and darkness swallowed everything again.
She exhaled shakily.
Then she heard it—
A soft sound directly behind her.
A shift of air.
A presence.
Someone was there.
Before she could turn, a hand caught her wrist—not harshly, but firmly—and pulled her deeper into the side passage.
Zelene stumbled, muffling a gasp.
The stranger's grip steadied her.
She whispered sharply,
"Let go—who are you—?"
But the figure remained silent.
A silhouette in the dark.
Tall.
Still.
Unmoving.
Zelene swallowed, pulse racing.
"Are you hiding too?" she whispered.
Silence.
The stranger turned his head, listening—to the fading footsteps, to the distant rumble of voices.
Then, finally, he spoke a single word.
Soft.
Low.
Quiet as breath.
"Quiet."
It struck her like a memory.
The same way Ray had once said it when they first met—word clipped, protective, not unkind.
But this voice was different.
Older?
Quieter?
More… tired.
Zelene stopped struggling.
The figure loosened his hold but didn't let go entirely—guiding her a few careful steps backward until the corridor curved out of sight of the main passage.
They were alone now.
Hidden.
Safe… for the moment.
The stranger didn't speak again.
Didn't move.
Didn't reveal his face.
Zelene tried to see more, but the darkness was absolute.
Only the faint warmth of his hand remained—steady, grounding.
Barely a whisper, she asked,
"Did you save me?"
Silence.
But his hand tightened slightly.
A quiet yes.
Zelene's breath trembled.
This passage…
this stranger…
this secret buried in the mountain…
She was close.
Closer than she'd ever been.