Page 58 of Shadow's Claim

Hope flickers again, stronger this time. "Could we reach it?"

"The journey would be exceptionally dangerous," Kael says, four arms creating shadow patterns that suggest deep consideration. "Multiple territory crossings, security checkpoints, environmental hazards."

"Not to mention the Anomaly itself," Dr. Grey adds. "The dimensional instability creates unpredictable effects. Some areas experience time differently. Others have altered physical laws. Reports suggest shadow demons who enter certain regions lose their abilities entirely."

"Which is precisely why Primes avoid it," I point out, the hybrid's consciousness buzzing with what feels like approval. "It's the one place they wouldn't follow us."

Dr. Grey shakes his head, disbelief clear on his lined face. "The risks are incalculable. And in your condition?—"

A sharp knock at the laboratory door cuts him off mid-sentence. We all freeze, staring at the entrance where the security panel now flashes with an override notification.

"Dr. Grey," calls a voice I don't recognize. "This is Security Commander Vex. Open your laboratory immediately by order of Sovereign Obscura."

My blood runs cold. Shadewalker Vex—Kael's lieutenant and rival. The shadow demon who's watched me with suspicious interest since my capture, his three arms always moving in patterns that suggested calculation rather than Kael's precision.

"He's found us," I whisper, panic rising in my throat.

Kael's shadows extend protectively around me, his massive form shifting to place himself between me and the door. The gesture is instinctive, unhesitating. This isn't the calculated response of a shadow demon protecting valuable property—it's something more primal, more personal.

Dr. Grey moves quickly to a secondary terminal, typing commands with practiced speed. "The medical examination room," he says, pointing to a door I hadn't noticed before. "It has separate environmental controls for specialized procedures. Go, now."

Kael gathers me against his midnight-black form, shadows extending to wrap around us both as we move toward the indicated door. Dr. Grey continues typing, activating some protocol I don't understand.

"What are you doing?" I ask as he works.

"Buying you time," he says without looking up. "The system will register an emergency decontamination sequence—standard procedure for potential exposure events. It seals the examination room for thirty minutes minimum."

Another, louder knock rattles the main door. "Final warning, Dr. Grey. We are authorized to use force."

"I'm coming!" Dr. Grey calls, then turns to us one last time. "The examination room connects to a secondary laboratory. There's a maintenance access panel in the floor—it leads back to the tunnels. Go northwest for approximately half a kilometer, then look for junction marked with red indicators. That will take you toward the western exit."

"Thank you," I say, meaning it completely despite the brevity.

Dr. Grey nods once, his expression grim but resolute. "Remember—the Anomaly is unpredictable. But perhaps that's exactly what you need now."

As the door to the examination room seals behind us, Kael's four arms work quickly to locate the access panel Dr. Grey mentioned. One pair continues to maintain shadows around us, while the other pair searches the floor methodically.

"Here," he says, finding and opening a maintenance hatch similar to the one we used to enter the building.

As he prepares for our descent, I place my hand over my abdomen, feeling the shadow patterns pulse beneath my palm. The hybrid's consciousness reaches for mine, its emotions complex but clear—fear mingled with determination, anxiety with purpose.

"We're going to find you somewhere safe," I promise the life growing inside me. "Somewhere you can be what you are, not what others want you to be."

Kael pauses in his preparations, glowing eyes meeting mine with unexpected intensity. "Not safety," he says quietly. "No such thing exists. But freedom to choose your own path—that, perhaps, we can offer."

The shadow demon who once imprisoned me now speaks of freedom and choice. The irony should be bitter, but somehow isn't. Our journey has transformed us both—me into something more than captive, him into something beyond captor.

"Together," I say, echoing our words from earlier. Not a question this time, but an affirmation.

"Together," he agrees, shadows extending to help me toward the access panel.

The hybrid's consciousness brightens in response, a warmth that spreads through my mind like sunrise breaking through darkness. Not safety, perhaps. But possibility.

And right now, possibility is enough.

CHAPTER22

SANCTUARY BREACHED

---