The shadow valley earned its name well. The moment Ravel and Seris descended the ridge, the sunlight dimmed as if swallowed by the hills. Rock walls rose on both sides, jagged and steep, forcing all sound to echo in uneven waves. The air cooled. The wind died. Even the distant horns faded under the weight of stone.
Seris scanned the narrow pass with quick, trained eyes. "This valley is safe enough for now. No gliders can dive into a trench this tight."
Ravel moved beside her, wary. "And soldiers?"
"They would rather burn a village than climb through terrain like this." She crouched, inspecting the dirt. "But it won't stop them if orders come from the marshal."
Ravel's stomach tightened at the reminder of his father.
Seris rose. "We'll use the ridge shadows until nightfall. Then push toward the ravine."
Ravel slowed his breath as they walked. The valley was quiet, almost too quiet. Even the insects stayed away. It reminded him of the chamber beneath the trench. The same sense of stillness. As if the land had been holding its breath for a long time.
Ravel touched the satchel where the sphere rested. It pulsed lightly. Not alarm. Not warning. More like curiosity.
"Does it feel… different now?" Seris asked without looking.
"What do you mean?"
She nodded toward the satchel. "The sphere. It's been reacting to everything. But since the chamber, it's like it's awake."
Ravel hesitated. "It feels… aware."
Seris cut him a sharp look. "Artifacts don't become aware."
"This one isn't an artifact," Ravel said. "Not the way the empire defines them."
Seris didn't argue, which told him enough about what she thought.
They continued through the valley at a steady pace. Rocks shifted underfoot. The shadows deepened as the sun dipped lower. Ravel caught glimpses of the outer wilds beyond the valley, gray and endless, stretching like a sea.
It scared him. But staying behind scared him more.
A crackle echoed above them.
Seris stopped abruptly.
Ravel looked up. "Scouts?"
"No." Seris tilted her head. "Static." She frowned. "Energy static. The kind produced when a resonance field collapses."
Ravel stiffened. "Like the chamber?"
Seris shook her head. "Different. This one is—"
A violent hiss split the air.
A streak of energy tore down from the ridge top, smashing into the rock beside them. Stone shattered. Dust exploded outward. Ravel stumbled backward, coughing. Seris grabbed his arm and yanked him behind a boulder.
Another blast hit the ridge.
Seris snarled under her breath. "They brought an echo siphon."
Ravel blinked. "A what?"
"An experimental weapon," she said. "Large. Slow. Overpowered. They could never stabilize it well enough to use in cities." She peered out from behind the rock. "But in open land… it's lethal."
A third blast hammered the slope above them. Rock fragments rained down.
Ravel shielded his head. "Why would they deploy something so unstable just for me?"
Seris didn't answer immediately. When she turned back to him, her eyes were hard. "Because whatever happened in that chamber scared them."
Another explosion closer this time. The valley trembled.
Seris grabbed Ravel's wrist. "We need to reach the ravine. Now. The siphon cannot reach across a deep split. The angles get too narrow."
They began to run again, keeping low, ducking behind rocks and fallen boulders. Every few seconds, another blast struck somewhere behind them. The beam left crackling arcs of violet energy in its wake. Even after the blasts faded, the air twisted with residual charge.
Ravel felt the sphere heat up in response, its rhythm growing tense.
Seris pointed to a narrow break between two large stones ahead. "Through there!"
They squeezed through just as another blast slammed the ground they'd been standing on seconds earlier. Dirt sprayed over their backs.
Ravel's heart hammered. "They're guessing our path."
"They're trained to," Seris said.
Ravel almost tripped over a loose stone but caught himself. Seris steadied him by the elbow, then pushed him forward.
They moved through a deeper crease in the valley. The rock walls stretched tall enough to darken the sky. The floor sloped downward, pebbles skittering beneath their boots.
Then Ravel felt something strange beneath the earth.
A vibration.
Faint. Rhythmic.
He slowed.
Seris looked back. "Don't stop."
"Something's under us."
Seris stiffened. "The empire?"
"No," Ravel whispered. "Something else."
The vibration grew stronger. Not like footsteps. More like breathing. The valley floor hummed with it. Even the sphere buzzed with a similar resonance.
Seris crouched and pressed her ear to the ground. Her brows drew together. "This is… natural. But not."
Ravel knelt beside her. The vibration pulsed in slow waves. A deep, ancient pattern. Familiar.
The same as the stone pillar.
His throat tightened. "The chamber… wasn't the only place where something was waking."
Seris stood quickly. "Then we need to leave this valley even faster."
Before Ravel could respond, a thunderous blast shook the ridge above them. The siphon fired again. The air warped with violet light.
But this time the blast struck something hidden beneath the ridge.
A hollow boom echoed through the valley like a drum hit by a giant. The earth beneath them lurched. A web of cracks split across the valley floor.
Seris grabbed Ravel's hand. "Move!"
The ground shuddered. A plume of dust shot up. Ravel stumbled. Another crack tore open ahead of them.
Then the sphere vibrated sharply, almost like it shouted.
Ravel reacted without thinking. He dove to the side, pulling Seris with him right as the earth split open beneath where they stood.
A massive fissure ripped across the valley floor. Stones tumbled. Dust rose like smoke. A deep, low moan sounded from somewhere far below.
Seris gasped. "The ravine—"
"No." Ravel shook his head. "This isn't the ravine."
"This," Seris whispered, "is something waking up."