Morwenna's POV
We rushed toward the scream, the narrow tunnel echoing our footfalls like war drums. Elda moved surprisingly fast for someone her age, her cane clicking against the stone rhythmically. My lungs burned, and yet I didn’t slow. That voice had sounded too familiar; raw, terrified, and human.
The air thickened. Not just with dust, but magic. Old, dense magic that pulled at the skin like cold fingers. The screaming had stopped, but something else had taken its place, a rhythmic thudding. Like a heartbeat. Or footsteps.
We reached a split in the tunnel. Elda didn’t hesitate. She veered left.
"Who was that?" I asked, breathless.
"A warning," she said. "But not meant for us. It called to what sleeps beneath."
The tunnel opened into another chamber—this one circular, with high w
