Page 44 of The Ozar Triad

They barreled around a sharp corner, the sides so narrow it scraped her feet and shoulders. Their footfalls pounded on the rough rock as they ran through the inky blackness. She tensed, skin prickling, half expecting another worm to bear down on them from the darkness.

“I think I can see…” Rujali began.

They all spilled out into an open area. Cool fresh air washed over her face and she sucked it down greedily. Stars blinked down from an inky sky. They weren’t just in a large cavern. They were outside.

There was nothing but dark, barren landscape surrounding them for miles and miles. They had escaped, but they were tired and injured and now totally lost. Her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes, heated tears prickling behind closed lids. One trickled free and she made no attempt to swipe it away.

She knew this would be a suicide mission, but she thought it would be at the hands of the Reptiles. Now it could be at the hands of good old exhaustion and dehydration. They’d just postponed their deaths into a drawn-out, more agonizing affair.

“Now what are we going to do?”

Chapter Eighteen

Riley

She was cradled in Rujali’s arms, Klaej at her right and Setzan at her left. They were halfway up a rocky hill that was dotted with the dark mouths of various caves. The landscape seemed to be woven with tunnels and caves, probably formed by the giant attack worms. Riley shuddered No wonder they could bite through flesh, bones and scales so easily if they could chew their way through solid rock.

They might have escaped the warren of the tunnels, but they were still in the middle of a vast desert that stretched before them. The space port could be in any direction. There wasn’t even a distant glow on the horizon to indicate any life existed at all.

Her surroundings were lit by the golden glow of the crystal she still clutched, and the enormity of the situation hit her. She closed her eyes and let the anger and frustration wash over her.

“I lost them, all but this one, when the worm attacked. I had one job—get your crystals—and now they’re probably lost forever. They could be anywhere by now. That worm might have eaten them and now they’re nothing but worm poop.”

“Will you stop?” Rujali tilted her head back and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

A tremor worked through his body. His face dropped and his eyes widened. “Your eyes!”

She flinched. “What about my eyes?”

Setzan and Klaej rounded on her.

“Gods,” Setzan said, breathless.

Together, the three stared down at her.

“Will you tell me what’s going on?” she said with an edge.

Klaej cupped her cheek. “Your eyes are glowing with the color of the Ozar, lit by its golden energy.”

“I don’t even know what that means. You’re just trying to take my mind off my complete and utter failure.” Her shoulders dropped. Wasn’t there anything that she could do that wouldn’t go wrong?

Rujali firmed his arms around her and pressed his lips against her forehead. Her mind stilled, and she drew comfort from his scent and his heat. How did that work?

“You were fighting for your life against scaled ones and a gigantic worm. I’m amazed you still have our crystal. You are amazing, Riley,” Setzan said.

“This one… This one’s yours?” Riley asked, holding it up and staring at it.

Klaej stroked a finger down the edge of the crystal, leaving a glowing wake where he’d touched. “This is the Ozar Crystal. We have much to thank you for managing to get it. We have been trying for the past decade.”

“A decade!” she gasped.

“It was lost. We had no idea where it was until we discovered a faint signal and that was what drew us here. To you. We have been following it for a year. To have it now. This is indeed a momentous occasion.” Rujali touched the crystal. It glowed even brighter.

Riley had to shield her eyes. It didn’t react like a normal crystal, or not a crystal she’d ever come across before.

“Is it living?” she asked.

“In a way. The power of our Quads energize it and in return it gives growth to our land and people. And now it lives in you.” Setzan touched the tip of the crystal.

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