Page 33 of Sy

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a solid chest. Sy’s voice rumbled low and sharp near her ear. “I’ve got her.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. She felt the tension radiating from him, saw how he’d positioned himself between her and Kraath. Possessive much?

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, steadying herself against the wall. The rough stone beneath her palm helped ground her. “The stones are slicker than they look.”

Kraath withdrew his hand slowly, his expression unreadable in the harsh shadows cast by their lights. “Indeed. The moisture from the caves tends to seep upward.” His eyes flickered between her and Sy. “Perhaps we should proceed more carefully.”

She nodded, adjusting her pack. But as they resumed their descent, Sy stayed closer, near enough that she could feel his heat at her back. The protective gesture should have irritated her after their earlier argument, but instead, it sent an unexpected warmth through her chest… one that had nothing to do with exertion.

The stairs leveled out into a wide corridor. Where the upper levels showed the precise, methodical construction that seemed to be typical of Izaean engineering, these walls seemed older, almost organic in their flowing curves. Ashley’s headlamp caught strange patterns in the stone that might have been natural erosion or something more deliberate.

“The entrance is just ahead,” Kraath said as he led them around a final bend, and her breath caught in her throat.

Before them stood what remained of an ancient barrier. Massive stone blocks, each easily twice Ashley’s height, had once sealed the passage completely. Now, a ragged gap stood to one side, where one of the stones had broken in two. The gap was just large enough for someone to squeeze through. The edges of the breach were worn smooth and pitted as if centuries of moisture had slowly eaten away at the stone.

“I ordered this sealed,” Kraath said, running his hand along the weathered surface. “When we first established the garrison.”

She frowned, studying the barrier more closely. The deterioration she saw would have taken hundreds of years toachieve. She opened her mouth but then shut it. Perhaps the moisture on Parac’Norr was far more corrosive than she was used it. It would certainly explain the damage.

“The caves beyond this point were deemed too dangerous,” he continued. “They connect to older systems down here.”

Sy moved closer to the gap, his light playing across the rough edges. “If you knew these caves were here, why weren’t they better secured?”

“They were.” Kraath’s expression didn’t alter, but she caught the slight flicker in his eyes. “But determined young minds often find ways around such obstacles. Even if they are for their own safety. This is where I leave you, I’m afraid. I have duties to attend to.”

She nodded and stepped closer to the gap as the garrison commander’s footsteps faded. The beam disappeared, swallowed by the darkness beyond. Water dripped somewhere in that blackness, the sound echoing back distorted and strange.

She could just picture it… The two teenagers testing the stones, gradually working them loose, careful to hide any evidence of their activities. “It’s just big enough for a person to squeeze through. I think we can get through it.”

“We can, and we will,” Sy said as he reached into his pack and withdrew something that looked like a cross between a flare and a glowstick. With a sharp twist, he activated it, bathing the corridor in a soft, blue-white light that seemed to penetrate the darkness more effectively than their headlamps before he threw it through the gap.

She adjusted her harness one final time, checking that all her equipment was secure. The dark opening gaped before them like a hungry thing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were about to cross more than just a physical threshold, but somewhere in that darkness, three kids were lost and scared.

“Well,” she said, “let’s go find them.”

12

The cave system stretched before them like a serpentine labyrinth, its winding passages lit by patches of luminescent fungi that clung to the slick stone walls. Sy watched Ashley navigate the tunnels, her movements fluid and certain as she picked paths even his enhanced senses hadn’t immediately identified as viable routes. They’d already walked for miles, but she showed no signs of slowing down. Unfortunately, they’d also found no sign of their prey. But… this was the only way they could have gone.

“Watch this ledge,” she called back, her voice bouncing off the walls. “The rock’s not as stable as it looks.”

The Rage symbiont within him stirred, its presence focused intently on Ashley but radiating none of the concern that churned in his gut. The disconnect bothered him. Its calm observation felt almost… amused.

Why aren’t you worried about her?he silently questioned the entity that shared his blood.

You Izaeans,the symbiont’s thoughts carried a note of derision,always assuming females need protecting. Look at her—really look. She knows exactly what she’s doing.

His boots scraped against stone as he processed this rebuke, studying her with new eyes. The confidence in her movements, the surety of her decisions… he’d been so busy trying to protect her that he’d nearly missed seeing her strength.

A cool draft whispered through the tunnel, carrying with it the promise of open spaces ahead. The bioluminescent moss on the walls cast her profile in an ethereal blue glow, highlighting the determined set of her jaw. Something shifted in his chest, his protective instinct transforming into something deeper… respect, admiration, and a growing attraction that had nothing to do with shielding her from harm.

“It opens up again about twenty feet in,” she turned to say over her shoulder, already moving to slide through the gap. “Just follow my lead.”

His breath caught as he watched her navigate the narrow channel. Even in the semidarkness, his enhanced vision picked up the fine sheen of perspiration at her temples, the slight flush in her cheeks from exertion, the way her lips parted slightly as she concentrated.

“Here,” she said, reaching back to guide him past a particularly tricky spot. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, warm and sure, sending a jolt of awareness straight through him. “The rocks shift a bit here. I’ll help you through.”

The contact was brief, professional, but his skin burned where she’d touched him. When she turned her head to check his progress, her face was so close he could see the flecks of gold in her eyes and feel the warmth of her breath on his cheeks.

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