The Holt home sat on the edge of the mining ridge, half-built into the slope of the mountain.
Stone walls kept the heat of Terrava's long afternoons at bay, and the wide front windows looked out across the scarred terraces of the mine below.
Kael sat at the kitchen table, trying very hard not to look like someone who had fallen into a cavern.
Which was difficult.
His ribs still hurt.
His shoulder ached.
And his head throbbed faintly every time he moved too quickly.
Across the room, his mother watched him like a hawk.
"You should be lying down," Lira Holt said.
"I was lying down."
"For twenty minutes."
Kael leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"I'm fine."
Her expression said she did not believe him for a second.
"You hit your head."
"I bumped it."
"You fell into a cavern."
"I landed."
She crossed her arms.
"You landed badly."
Kael rubbed his face.
"I'm eighteen years old."
"And?"
"I'm not a child."
Lira tilted her head slightly.
"You're my child."
"That's not the same thing."
"It is when you fall into holes in the ground."
Kael tried very hard not to smile.
Living in a mining settlement meant everyone learned quickly that arguments with their mothers were usually pointless.
Especially when those mothers had spent most of their lives worrying about their sons doing dangerous work underground.
Still…
"I'm fine," he said again.
She studied him carefully.
Kael forced himself to look relaxed.
Which was difficult, because he was very aware of the faint tingling in his palm.
The rune.
It hadn't faded.
The symbol still curled across his skin like thin veins of emerald light beneath the surface.
He had hidden it carefully the moment they reached home.
Now his hand rested casually on the table, fingers curled so the mark remained out of sight.
Lira finally sighed.
"You're resting today," she said.
"No work."
"I wasn't planning to."
"Good."
She turned back toward the counter where a kettle steamed quietly.
Kael's gaze drifted toward the window.
From here he could see the collapsed ridge clearly.
Miners moved across the terraces, gathered around the sinkhole.
He watched as three of them knelt near the fractured edge.
They placed their hands against the ground.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the soil shifted slightly.
Small rocks slid aside as the men concentrated, guiding loose debris away from the unstable edge.
Another miner stood nearby with both hands pressed against a cracked slab. The stone trembled faintly as he focused, slowly easing the pressure off the fractured wall behind it.
The movement was slow.
Careful.
Controlled.
Even with their abilities, the work looked exhausting.
After several minutes one of the men pulled his hands away and wiped sweat from his brow.
The larger slabs still sat wedged deep in the shaft.
Far too heavy for anyone to move.
Instead the miners worked around them, stabilizing the surrounding rock so the collapse wouldn't spread further.
Kael watched them for a moment longer.
They could shape soil.
Shift loose rock.
Reinforce weak stone.
But even Terravans couldn't simply lift mountains.
He leaned back in his chair again.
The faint sensation in his palm returned.
A dull vibration beneath the skin.
He frowned and glanced down.
The rune still glowed faintly.
Almost like it was responding to something.
Kael closed his hand.
The feeling faded.
His mother returned with two cups and set one down in front of him.
"Drink."
Kael obeyed.
"Thanks."
She sat across from him and studied him again.
"You're quiet."
"Thinking."
"That usually worries me."
He smirked.
"That's hurtful."
She didn't smile.
"You're sure you're alright?"
Kael hesitated.
He thought about telling her.
About the chamber.
About the crystal.
About the strange feeling inside the stone.
But the words stuck in his throat.
Because if he said it out loud…
It would sound insane.
Instead he shrugged.
"Just replaying the fall."
Her expression softened slightly.
"That's normal."
She reached across the table and squeezed his arm.
"You're lucky."
Kael nodded.
Lucky.
That was one word for it.
His thoughts drifted again to the chamber beneath the mountain.
The smooth stone walls.
The strange symbols.
The emerald crystal.
And the way it had dissolved into light when he touched it.
If it had been real…
If any of it had been real…
Then the answers were still down there.
Waiting.
Kael looked back toward the window.
The miners continued their slow work along the ridge, pressing their hands into the ground as they reinforced the fractured stone.
They could stabilize the collapse.
But the massive slabs wedged deep in the shaft weren't going anywhere.
Not anytime soon.
Which meant the cavern below remained sealed.
Hidden.
His palm tingled again.
The faint green lines pulsed once beneath his skin.
Kael slowly closed his hand.
Maybe it was the concussion.
Maybe it wasn't.
But one thing was certain.
He needed to see that chamber again.
Because whatever had happened down there…
He had a feeling it had only just begun.