Page 45 of Sy

Sy’s back hit stone with enough force to drive the air from his lungs. The impact scattered his thoughts but not enough to distract from Ashley’s weight pressed against him, her body fitting against his like she belonged there. His arms had locked around her waist during their tumble through the opening, his fingers splayed across the small of her back, and now he couldn’t seem to make himself let go.

The world narrowed to sensations—floral shampoo filling his lungs with each breath, her chest rising and falling against his, warm pants of air ghosting across his jaw. The cave’s cool dampness couldn’t compete with the heat radiating between them, drowning him in feelings he’d been fighting for days.

She lifted her head slowly, their eyes meeting in the dim light. Her face hovered close enough that he could count the gold flecks in her brown eyes. For one endless heartbeat, everything else fell away—the cave, their mission, the constant threat of discovery. His lips parted, but words failed him. What could he possibly say that wouldn’t shatter this moment?

Scrambling feet and worried voices echoing from above broke the spell. Reality crashed back with brutal force. Thekids.Lila.His body went rigid as unease twisted through his gut. If Lila saw him holding her mother like this… It wasn’t appropriate. They were here to rescue the kids.

Forcing every muscle to cooperate, he loosened his hold. Ashley pushed herself off him, her cheeks flushed as she brushed dirt from her jacket, mumbling an apology. He had no idea what for… he’d been the one holding on to her. He sat up slower, his body protesting both the movement and the loss of her warmth.

The teens scrambling through the rocks interrupted his thoughts. He forced his attention away from Ashley, though every cell in his body seemed aware of exactly how far away she was as well as exactly how many steps it would take to reach her again.

“Are you guys okay?” Kal asked, his voice bouncing off stone walls.

Before either of them could respond, Lila said, “Err, Mom?”

The tone sent Sy’s instincts into overdrive. His head snapped around. She stood frozen at the edge of their group, staring into the darkness, her wide-eyed expression stopping him cold.

Bioluminescent moss cast a sickly green glow across jagged rock formations, catching metallic gleams in the darkness beyond. Something about that unnatural shimmer made his instincts stir uneasily. The air carried an odd metallic tang that set his teeth on edge.

He pushed to his feet slowly, moving further into the cave. One entire wall looked odd, almost like the control section of a spaceship… but in the rock itself. Smooth, dark metal emerged from the rock as if it had grown there, the stone around it bearing the rippled texture of rock that had once melted and reformed.

He frowned. The structure’s lines were achingly familiar—sweeping arches that spoke of corridors, geometric patterns thatwhispered of ship architecture—but twisted, as though someone had taken a ship’s interior and reformed it into something new.

Each step closer made his Rage pulse stronger, an insistent thrumming beneath his skin that felt almost like recognition. The structures loomed ahead, their smooth surfaces alien against rough cave walls.

He stopped in front of it and reached out. His fingers brushed the cool surface. The metal hummed beneath his touch, sending a jolt through his arm that made his symbiont surge.

Crystalline structures embedded within the panels caught the dim light, and he tilted his head as lines of soft blue light spread outward from his fingertips. Their patterns pulled at something buried deep in his memory. He jerked back, but the lights continued their slow dance, casting shadows in electric blue.

“Don’t move,” he warned, hearing Ashley draw closer. The urge to reach for her, to pull her behind him, clawed at his chest. Instead, he forced himself to stay still, watching as the patterns expanded, following logic he couldn’t grasp.

Tor drifted toward another section of the strange technology, drawn as much as Sy had been. The moment he came within reach, more lights flickered to life, spreading like luminescent veins through ancient metal. The patterns differed but complemented the ones Sy had triggered, creating a complex dance of light and shadow.

“It’s responding to you,” Ashley said softly. “Both of you.”

He nodded, his attention split between the growing light show and his symbiont’s reaction. The creature within seemed more alert than he’d ever felt it, its energy coiling and uncoiling in his chest like a restless serpent.

What’s going on? What is this?he asked, but it didn’t answer him.

Another step forward brought more lights blooming. A step back dimmed them slightly.

“It’s the legion,” he said, his voice rough with realization. “The tech… it knows what we are.”

Tor’s quiet voice carried across the cavern. “The same over here. It grows stronger when I approach, weaker when I step away.”

Sy’s jaw tightened. This wasn’t random technology they’d stumbled across. It felt like it had beenwaitingfor them.

He examined the structures more carefully, trying to understand their purpose. The patterns held meaning, but he couldn’t work it out. It was like it was there, just on the edge of comprehension. Parts reminded him of ship architecture he’d seen before…

but distorted, as if viewed through warped glass. Other sections seemed completely alien, following design principles he had no idea about.

“What do you think it is?” Lila asked. She’d moved closer to her mother, but her eyes remained fixed on the dancing lights.

“I don’t—” Sy started to answer, but his symbiont suddenly surged, stronger than before. The sensation wasn’t exactly painful, but it demanded attention, pulling his focus inward even as lights pulsed brighter around them.

He glanced at Tor. Their eyes met across the cavern, and he knew without a doubt that Tor’s symbiont was reacting the same way.

What the hell…

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