7. Chapter 7
T he world exploded in steam. Gas scorched Ren’s lungs as she coughed, vision blurring. Somewhere came a shrill scream. Sela .
“Move!” Talen barked from up ahead. “ Now !”
A fissure to their right exploded. Shards of rock rained down around them.
Ren bolted, but each step sank, as though the ground were softening to molten sludge. More steam rose, obscuring her vision. Sweat slicked her brow, stung her eyes.
“Shit!” Ren spat as her heel struck something jagged. Pain stabbed through her foot with every step, but she didn’t slow. Gritting her teeth, Ren fixed her gaze on Sela and Elira fleeing through the smoke and Talen’s dark silhouette just behind them.
The mountain groaned closer this time. Ren’s gaze snagged on a towering obsidian pillar that jutted from the slope above the pass.
It leaned precariously over the pass, and with each groan of the mountain, the pillar started to tilt with an eerie slowness.
The shadow it cast stretched over Ren, swallowing her in darkness.
Another vent blew. Steam blasted across the path, scalding Ren’s skin, her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and stumbled forward blindly.
Fuck, fuck, fuck !
The ground heaved, nearly knocking Ren off her feet. Each step felt like a gamble. Would the earth hold or swallow her whole?
Then came the final groan – this one deeper, louder. The kind of sound that meant something was giving way.
Silence.
Ren turned her head just in time to see the pillar teetering free, its immense shadow rushing toward her, devouring the ground between them. For a breath, awe froze her in place at its sheer size.
It’s inevitability.
Ren’s heart slammed against her ribs. Move. Move.
She tried. Gods, she tried, legs pumping, lungs tearing for air, but she knew she couldn’t outrun it. The pillar loomed above her, close enough now that she could see the molten veins glowing faintly along its cracked surface.
And then, a strong arm hooked tight around her waist from behind and flung her forward with brutal force.
The world spun – heat, smoke, stone, and then she crashed to the ground, tumbling across jagged rock until a rough hand seized her wrist, anchoring her.
A voice hissed in her ear. “Get on your feet!” Talen .
His grip lingered for just a heartbeat before he shoved her toward the others, his body angled protectively between her and the falling pillar as it crashed behind them with an earth-shaking roar.
Shards of molten rock scattered like sparks. Heat licked at Ren’s back as she scrambled to her feet.
“Go!” Talen barked again, already moving, his hand briefly pressing against her shoulder before he sprinted ahead.
They ran. The vents hissed and roared around them, belching steam that burned her lungs raw. Every instinct screamed faster, faster , even as her legs trembled beneath her.
Another tremor rippled through the ground, but then the path widened, sloping down into a cooler stretch of earth where the rock gave way to ash-darkened soil.
And then, trees.
They burst through a thicket of charred pines, the forest alive with the scent of scorched sap. The sounds of Mount Solfira faded to a distant grumble .
Ren stumbled to a stop, bracing a hand on her knee as she gulped down air, lungs burning, throat raw from smoke.
Sela collapsed onto a fallen log, her chest heaving as she buried her face in her hands.
Elira paced, her eyes wild, muttering curses under her breath.
Ren eventually straightened, brushing her damp hair back from her face. Her heartbeat still thundered like a war drum, the adrenaline refusing to ebb.
A shadow loomed at her side.
“Are you hurt?” Talen asked quietly. His eyes swept over her, searching for injuries.
For a moment, Ren could only stare at him.
Why had he thrown himself between her and certain death?
Ren opened her mouth, then closed it again, unable to form the words. “I’m fine,” she managed at last, the words sharper than she intended.
Talen only gave a curt nod before turning his gaze back toward Mount Solfira, watching its smoke curl lazily into the sky. Ren followed his gaze, the question lingering.
Why did he save me?