The cave smelled of damp stone and blood. Echoes of our ragged breathing bounced off the walls, mingling with the distant drip of water somewhere deeper inside. The fire Kael had coaxed from scraps of wood burned low, its orange light flickering weakly against the jagged rock.
We had survived the slaughter at the ravine, but just barely. Every movement ached, every breath felt like a risk. And worse than the pain was the silence—Adrian hadn’t spoken since we stumbled in here. He sat against the wall, his eyes half in shadow, watching us like he was waiting for one of us to break.
I wanted to ask him what the hell our next move was, but the weight of Marcus’s final warning hung between us all, poisoning every word before it could leave our mouths.
We’re already inside.
That whisper hadn
