Page 72 of On Burning Paths

I've always been more of a flora and fauna kind of man. But even I have to admit this is extraordinary.

“I wish Ivor could see this,” Nyx whispers, and I reach back, catching her hand and squeezing it. She squeezes back, and I let go, hoping for her sake that her servant is still around by the time we make it out of the Trials.

We start to move forward again and Thorian stumbles, letting out a slight curse. Talon does the same and I glance back at the vampire, finding sweat beading along his hair line, glinting in the light of the fire.

“What is it?” I ask, sensing something is wrong.

“Nothing,” Thorian says, while Talon grunts, like he can’t quite clear his throat.

“Not feeling great,” Talon admits, tugging at his collar and glancing up at the crystals. “I’ve felt this way before, around crystals. Some of them…leech power.”

“So us powerless people have nothing to worry about,” Nyx jokes, but it doesn’t quite land. I don’t need to inform everyone that it’s a bad thing for our two strongest members to be waning in this cave.

“Great,” Thorian mutters, turning around and holding his torch slightly lower than before. “Just⁠—”

But he cuts off when a scream sounds from somewhere deep in the cave system, echoing out and toward us, as though repeating over and over itself. We all freeze, and I run the sound through my mind, trying to match it with any of our competitors.

It sounded, for all the world, like the scream of a woman.

But the only other woman is that shifter, and wouldn’t the wolves have been in their canine forms for this?

Thorian gestures for us to continue moving. Voices echo, though they’re so quiet it’s hard to tell if they’re real or imagined words and sentences or just the scrape of our boots along the ground.

There’s another scream, and this time, Nyx reaches for my hand, holding tight. Her breath comes faster, and we walk tighter together.

The screams layer atop one another, like a haunting melody.

“What is that?” Talon ventures, his voice deathly quiet.

So, I’m not the only one thinking those screams might not be coming from our competitors after all.

“I’m not sure,” Thorian says, his voice lacking its usual edge. “But whatever it is, we need to be ready.”

I try to be ready, try to work through my mind and figure out what the noises could be, if not the other groups. But the only thing I feel is deeply unsettled.

Someone, or something, is down here with us… and it means trouble.

21

Nyx

It’s a good thing I don’t need to be fearless for this trial, because my hands are trembling with terror. I don’t like the dark. I’ve never liked it. But this is a kind of dark I’ve never experienced before.

And all I want to do is run the hell out of here.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you,” Fenric whispers beside me.

Thorian and Talon glance back, concern on their faces, and my heart swells.

Throughout the day, I could feel the reminder of the night before in everything. Not just in their glances, though those are there too. It's in the smaller things. Thorian's hand settles at the small of my back whenever we navigate a difficult stretch of ground, steadying me without being asked. Fenric always passes me the water first, waiting until I've had my fill before taking a drink himself. When the path narrows, Talon falls into step beside me, angling his body toward the darkness beyond the torchlight as if daring anything lurking there to come closer. And all three of them keep checking on me without seeming to realize they're doing it. They’re not anxious, not hovering. Just present. Just making sure.

I've spent so much of my life being the one who takes care of things. Of Lyra, of the manor, of whatever needed doing. Being cared for in return is something I'm still learning how to receive without deflecting it.

This morning, they all would have been happy to stay laying together. Even Thorian, who has been the one pushing us forward at every turn, who has never once suggested lingering anywhere for longer than necessary, had looked like he might be ready to stay in that cave forever.

Another scream sounds, echoing through the cave, and I stiffen.

“Stop,” Thorian whispers, his voice low and harsh.