The darkness swallowed Mira before she could scream.
The sound of stone collapsing echoed around her as her body dropped through cold air. Instinct forced her to twist, clutching the injured child tightly against her chest. She struck the ground hard on her shoulder and rolled across loose gravel before finally stopping.
Pain spread across her ribs, and the child cried weakly in her arms.
Mira forced herself to breathe. “I am here,” she whispered.
Dust filled the air. Above her, broken light filtered through cracks in the collapsed cavern ceiling, but the distance was too far to climb.
“Mira!” Ryker’s voice echoed faintly from above.
She did not answer.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness slowly. The tunnel she had fallen into was narrow and sloped downward, carved by water long ago.
