The hollow had never been so quiet. The air was thick, as if holding its breath before the storm. Kael stood at the center of the blood-stained sigil circle, the faint red glow crawling across his boots like veins of fire. Around him, the chains lay coiled in the shallow water, but every few moments their hooked ends twitched, sensing what was coming.
The boy was awake now, gripping his spear so tightly that his knuckles were white. His face was pale, his jaw set. Lira crouched near the base of a pillar, sharpening her dagger in slow, careful strokes that hissed in the silence. The soldier paced near the tunnel mouth, her armor plates clicking softly with every step.
“They’ll come through the east tunnel first,” Kael said at last, his voice flat, calm. “They always send their best in fro
