The world broke.
Silver broke like glass, and black fire ate up the cracks as light and shadow folded in on themselves. The only thing holding me in place as the Cradle's scream ripped through the emptiness was Thorn's hand, which remained locked in mine.
Then—silence
We had left the cavern when my vision cleared.
We were in a moon field.
Not stars, not sky, but hundreds of moons hanging like pale lanterns in the sky. Every step I took caused ripples in the ground, as if I were walking on water, and their glow painted the ground in shifting silver tides.
Thorn staggered beside me, blood still streaking his arms, his chest heaving. His claws flexed at his sides as he scanned the horizon. “Where are we?”
Before I could answer, the moons flickered—one by one, winking out until only
