Chapter 24 Leena
LEENA
The tunnel narrows, then twists even tighter, the rock folding in on itself like it’s trying to finish what the hunter started. We turn a corner, and the way forward is blocked by a rockslide.
I slow because there’s nowhere to go.
I feel the thing behind us in the way the air tightens, in the scrape of metal against stone that never stops, never hesitates. We’re out of room. Out of angles. Out of time.
Desperate, I search for anything that will give us a chance. A ray of hope. But there’s nothing. Kael and I look at each other. My heart thunders in my ears. Tears well in my eyes. We’ve come so far. We’re so close, but there’s nothing.
His eyes brighten. He raises his hand. It shakes as he does. Then he presses his fingers to my cheek. He leans in, closer until our foreheads touch.
“Treasure,” he whispers, the warmth of his breath passing over my face.
I close my eyes, choking on a sob.
“Not like this,” I whisper back. “No. Not yet.”
“Mine. My… love,” he says, wincing in pain.
Then he straightens and turns. He’s barely standing, but I can’t tell that by looking at him. He squares his shoulders, his wings opening with a snap as he raises his tail, and he growls in defiance.
This is his last stand.
Our last stand.
I sob, unable to hold it back. Then I pick up a rock, the only weapon to hand and move to his side.
Something shifts above us. It’s faint—not the tunnel or the creature. I dare a fast glance up and back, then see light.
I catch it at the edge of my vision, a thin, fractured line cutting through the rock overhead where the stone has split just enough to let something through. Brightness.
“There,” I say, sharper now, turning just enough to confirm it.
A break. A literal ray of hope. We might be able to break through. Get out of this infernal tunnel. Survive a little longer, at least.
“Go.”
“No,” I say without even thinking about it. “Together.”
He looks back toward where the thing is coming, then nods sharply. There’s no argument because we don’t have time for it. We move together.
The rockslide is unstable, jagged edges biting into my hands as I reach for the first hold, dragging us both forward, upward, every movement a risk as loose stone shifts under our feet.
We climb. It’s slow, too slow. He slips.
“No,” I breathe, tightening my grip, adjusting before we both lose balance and go down.
“Stay with me.”
“I… am…”
The opening narrows above us, forcing me to wedge my shoulder into the rock to get enough leverage to help him.
My arms burn. My grip slips.
I catch. I hold. Don’t let go.
Behind us it hits the base of the climb hard. The impact shakes the rock under us, dust raining down as the space we just left fractures further under its weight.
The filament snaps out. I feel the shift in the air. The line cuts toward us, so I twist, dragging him with me, but it’s too late.
It wraps his leg, jerking, and he slams against the rock. We’re halfway up; I try to hold onto him, and my grip nearly tears free.
“Kael—!”
“I’ve got it.”
I move down enough to reach. I close my hand around the filament, the metal biting into my skin as I wrap it tight around a jagged edge above us.
I pull with everything I have. The creature pulls back.
I brace, my feet slipping, arms shaking. No. Not this time. Not this close.
“Hold,” I whisper, more to myself than to him.
The rock cracks. A sharp, splintering sound that echoes through the narrow space. He shifts, twisting, a violent wrench of his body that shouldn’t be possible in the state he’s in.
The angle breaks, and the line slips. Kael tears free.
“Move!”
I don’t hesitate. I climb. Fast. I drag him with me, forcing every last bit of strength out of both of us as the opening closes in around us, the space tightening until there’s barely room to breathe—
Then we break through. Light hits like a blow. Blinding.
After the dark, after the tight, suffocating pressure of the tunnel, the open sky feels wrong. It’s too wide, too bright, too exposed.
Heat slams into me.
Air. Real, clean air.
I drag in a breath that burns all the way down as I pull him forward, both of us stumbling out onto the sand.
The ground behind us explodes.
The creature tears through the opening, forcing itself into the open with a violent surge. Its body unfolds from the rock into the light. For a second, I’m frozen, staring at the damn thing. Out here it looks even bigger. More dangerous. More deadly.
The eye locks on us. There’s no cover. No escape. I turn, bracing, and pull him upright. This is it. We don’t have anything left. Not another move. Not another trap. Not—
Something hits it from the side. Fast. Violent.
The impact drives the creature off balance. It slams into the sand hard enough that the ground shudders under the force. It reacts instantly, adjusting, but it’s too late.
Another strike. Then another. Coordinated. Not random.
I freeze. Just for a second. Because this isn’t us. I’m sun-blind, only seeing shadowy figures moving across the sand. Fast. Controlled. Weapons. Formation.
They drive the creature back, forcing it away from us. My breath catches, because at the center of them, one doesn’t move like the others.
He doesn’t rush forward; he stands, commanding.
The others move around him like they’re part of something bigger. Something trained. He steps forward as my eyes adjust, and I recognize him.
The scarred Zmaj who’s been more active in the camp recently. He’s been leading hunts and helping with the logistics of moving the survivors to the city.
Kaelreth goes still.
“...You,” he says.
There’s not a hint of relief in his voice.
I look at Kael, and he’s vibrating with tension or possibly rage.
Whatever it is, he’s barely controlled. He’s half-dead, but his hands and jaw are clenched. His tail rises, curling over his head, ready to fight.
He takes a step forward, not toward the creature, but toward the scarred Zmaj.