Page 47 of Sy

Sy crouched beside them, his movement nearly silent despite his size. He reached for Lila’s wrist, two fingers pressing gently against her pulse point. The careful way he handled her daughter, the quiet competence in his movements, steadied something in Ashley’s churning stomach.

“Pulse is strong,” he said, his deep voice pitched low. “That’s good.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She watched as Sy performed a quick assessment, checking Lila’s pupils, her breathing, her skin temperature. His presence was solid, grounding, and she found herself leaning slightly toward him, drawing on his calm like a lifeline in rough seas.

Lila stirred again, her head turning toward Ashley. Her eyes opened, unfocused at first but then slowly sharpening. “Mom?”

The word cracked something in her chest. She gathered Lila’s hand between both of hers, pressing it to her heart. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”

“The structure,” Lila murmured, her free hand weakly gesturing toward the metallic mass. “It was… talking. Not with words, but…” Her brow furrowed in confusion. “I could feel it. In my head.”

Ice slid down her spine. She shot a worried look at Sy, who had gone still beside her. Before either of them could respond, the sound of boots on stone echoed through the cavern.

“Hello!” a deep voice called out. “Security team approaching!”

“Down here!” Sy shouted back, his voice bouncing off the stone walls. “We’ve got an injured human here!”

Harsh beams of light stabbed through the darkness, making her squint as the security team arrived. She positioned herself between Lila and the entrance, just in case. Multiple figures crowded into the cavern, backlit by the lights of their companions, shadows stretching ahead of them like giants.

As they drew closer, she recognized the man in the lead. Kraath. Relief flooded through her. The garrison commander’s presence meant they were taking this seriously.

Kraath’s massive frame stepped into the pool of their emergency lights. Four of his security team flanked him, their gear clanking with each step. The lights mounted on their helmets swept across the cave, lingering on the metallic structure before settling on their group.

“What happened?” Kraath’s voice bounced off the stone walls.

Sy straightened beside Ashley. “The structure activated when Lila approached it. Some kind of scan. She lost consciousness but is now responsive.”

Ashley’s jaw clenched. That clinical description couldn’t capture the terror of watching that light envelop her daughter, of seeing Lila collapse. Of not knowing if she’d wake up.

“She needs a stretcher,” she said, her voice sharp. “I don’t want her walking out of here.”

Kraath’s eyebrows rose as he studied her. “Ms. Jackson?—”

“A stretcher,” she repeated, meeting his gaze with a hard one of her own. Then she relented a little, “Please.”

Something shifted in the garrison commander’s expression—surprise, maybe respect. He nodded to two of his team. “Get it set up.”

The security team moved with practiced efficiency, unfolding and assembling the stretcher. Their movements stirred up cave dust that caught in the beams of their headlamps. Ashley kept her hand wrapped around Lila’s, watching every move they made like a hawk guarding its nest.

“Mom?” Lila’s voice wavered. “I can probably walk.”

Ashley squeezed her hand. “Humor me, baby.”

Sy moved to help position the stretcher, and she noticed how he placed himself between Lila and the structure, as if shielding her from its influence. The security team approached with the stretcher, and her grip on Lila’s hand tightened instinctively.

“Careful,” she warned as they prepared to move Lila. “She’s still weak.”

“We know what we’re doing, Ms. Jackson,” one of the team members said, not unkindly.

Sy stepped closer to her. “Let them work,” he murmured. “They’re well-trained.”

She forced herself to release Lila’s hand, though every maternal instinct screamed against it, and watched as theylifted her daughter onto the stretcher. Lila’s face paled at the movement, her eyes squeezing shut.

“Stop,” Ashley stepped forward. “She’s in pain.”

“Almost done,” the team member assured her, and true to his word, they had Lila secured in seconds.

Ashley moved immediately to the stretcher’s side, reclaiming Lila’s hand like it was a lifeline.

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