Page 36 of Sy

“No. Well, yes and no.” His gaze found hers again, alien red filled with concern. “It was part of me, but not the part you know. The symbiont… it actually likes you.”

A bark of laughter escaped her, sharp and brittle as shattered glass. “Likes me? That’s what it looks like when it likes someone?”

“It was checking on you, in its way. Making sure you were safe.” His lips twisted, wry amusement ghosting across his features. “It’s been… vocal about my failure to take proper care of you. Apparently, I should have found better sleeping arrangements than a cave floor.”

The absurdity hit her like a physical blow—standing in a cave discussing an alien symbiont’s opinions about her comfort levels. A hysterical giggle clawed up her throat, but she choked it back down. “So there’s basically an alien backseat driver in your head? Critiquing your decisions?”

“More like a very opinionated copilot.” Tension bled from his shoulders like water. “One that’s particularly protective of you, for some reason. It doesn’t usually take such interest in… well, anything.”

Her muscles unclenched fractionally, though every movement he made registered like radar pings in her awareness. “And this happens often? The taking control thing?”

“No.” He shook his head, conviction hardening his voice. “This is the first time. But it might help us find Lila and the others.” He took a tentative step forward. “My symbiont can track Tor’s.”

“Tor’s symbiont? But he’s just a kid… Shit, can his do that as well?”

Horror crawled up her spine like ice water. Lila was down here with a feral teenager. Her legs gave out, and she slid down the wall, the rough stone catching at her clothes. All she could focus on was her daughter, trapped in the dark with creatures that could lose control at any moment. Just like Sy had.

Cold sweat broke out across her skin despite the cave’s chill.

“Ashley.” Sy’s voice came soft as shadow, closer now. She looked up to find him crouching before her, one hand extended but not quite bridging the gap between them. “Listen to me. Tor’s symbiont… it’s different. One of the oldest, most powerful. I think it might even be some kind of leader among them.”

She tried to focus past the panic clawing at her chest. “How… how can you know that?”

“Because I can feel it.” He moved closer. “My symbiont knows. It’s why we came this way.”

A shudder racked her frame—cold or fear, she couldn’t tell anymore. Sy made a sound low in his throat, almost a growl but lacking threat. Before she could process it, he closed the distance between them, pulling her against the solid wall of his chest.

She should have fought. Should have pushed him away after seeing what lurked beneath his skin. Instead, she pressed closer, seeking his warmth like a moth to flame. His heartbeat thundered strong and steady under her ear, the scent of ozone and metal wrapping around her like a familiar blanket.

“They’re safer with Tor than anyone else down here,” he murmured, the words vibrating through his chest. One large hand stroked down her back. “His symbiont understands more than most. Has more control.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, letting his warmth seep into her cold-locked muscles.

“I can’t lose her, Sy.” The words emerged barely above a whisper. “She’s all I have.”

His arms tightened, his face pressing into her hair like he could shield her from reality itself. “You won’t lose her. I promise.” He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. “We’ll find them. All of them.”

She nodded, drawing in a deep breath that tasted of stone and water and him.

The moment stretched between them, intimate as a secret in the cave’s bloody light until a distant sound echoed through the tunnels like a gunshot.

Her head snapped up. “What was that? Was that them? Come on. We have to go!”

13

The ground crumbled, and Lila’s world tilted sideways. Her stomach shot into her throat as gravity grabbed her, yanking her down into nothingness. The scream that ripped from her felt like glass in her throat, raw and burning. Wind whistled past her ears, drowning out everything except the thundering of her own heartbeat. She couldn’t tell up from down in the pitch darkness. Her arms windmilled uselessly, her fingers grasping at empty air that seemed to go on forever.

Kal slammed into her from behind, his chest hot against her back even through their clothes. His arms locked around her ribs, squeezing so tightly she could barely breathe. The heat of him was the only real thing in the void as they plummeted. His breath came harsh and fast against her neck, his heartbeat a wild drumming she could feel through her spine.

The impact stole her breath and shattered her world into fragments of sensation. One second she was falling through air, the next, needles of ice stabbed every inch of exposed skin. Water rushed up her nose, burning like fire in her sinuses. The shock of cold made her gasp reflexively, and mineral-heavy water flooded her mouth—sharp, metallic, with a bitter earthiness that coated her tongue. Her clothes ballooned out before plastering against her skin, dragging her deeper into the frigid darkness.

Which way was up? Her lungs seized, desperate for air. The cold numbed her fingers as she clawed at the water, each movement sluggish, like swimming through honey. The weight of her waterlogged clothes dragged at her limbs as spots danced in the darkness behind her eyes. Her chest felt ready to explode.

His hand clamped around her arm like a burning brand against her numbed skin. He yanked her upward, and suddenly her face broke the surface. The first breath felt like swallowing knives. She retched, cave water burning its way back up her throat. Her teeth chattered so hard her jaw ached, the sound clicking in her skull.

“Hold on to me!” A hard arm banded around her waist, hot as a furnace against her frozen skin. More rocks crashed into the pool around them. Each impact sent shockwaves through the water that rattled her bones and set her teeth on edge. Spray stung her eyes, tasting of limestone and fear on her lips.

A boulder hit the water feet away, and the wave that followed created a wall of force that drove them under. Water rushed up her nose again, stealing her ability to breathe. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his biceps hard enough to bruise. His muscles flexed under her grip as he fought to keep them both alive, his body radiating heat that was instantly stolen by the icy pool.

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