The darkness swallowed the lantern light whole, and still Serena kept walking toward it.
"Serena." Kael's grip tightened around her hand, not pulling her back, but anchoring himself to her instead. "Whatever's down there, we don't know if it's friend or enemy."
"I know." Her voice came out steadier than she felt. "But it's been waiting. I can feel it. If I run from this, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering what I was too afraid to face."
"Then we face it together." He said it as a vow, quiet and absolute, and something in Serena's chest loosened despite the fear coiling through her.
Mira lingered at the passage's edge, torn between terror and loyalty. "I'm coming too. Someone needs to survive this to tell the story if it goes badly."
"Comforting," Kael muttered, and led them both
