Logan took the deeper passage, Kira beside him, while Elena followed the branch leading toward the outer wall, each of them carrying a torch against the thickening darkness beneath the palace foundation.
The blood trail continued intermittently along the stone floor, small drops and occasional smears suggesting someone had been dragged or had stumbled repeatedly through this section of tunnel. Logan followed it carefully, his enhanced senses picking up the faint, coppery scent even in sections where visible evidence had grown too faint for ordinary eyes to track reliably.
"This continues further than I expected," Kira said quietly, studying the trail's persistence. "Whoever bled here either survived long enough to travel a significant distance, or was moved deliberately after the initial
