The mountain groaned like a dying beast.
Cracks split the cavern ceiling, raining stone and dust as the Heartstone’s ruin destabilized everything around it. Wolves scrambled for footing, children screamed, and Council Hounds poured through the fractured walls like armored shadows.
Kane held Aurelia against his chest, her body limp but faintly glowing.
Her breath barely stirred his skin.
“Hold on,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Aurelia... don’t you dare leave me now.”
The Bondborn lifted his hands toward the collapsing ceiling, runes spiraling from his skin as he held the mountain at bay.
“Go!” he thundered. “Get them out! I can hold the stone but not for long.”
Lysandra grabbed two of the children, pulling them toward the tunnel.
“Ria! Kane! Move!”
But Kane didn’t move.
He was s
