"It's gaining!" Corin gasped, panic making the air around him shimmer visibly.
Jamie glanced back to see a dark mass flowing between the trees—not quite solid, its edges billowing like smoke but its core black as pitch. It moved with terrible purpose, gaining ground with each passing second.
"Corin, control yourself," Azelon snapped. "Your projection is making us easier to track."
"I can't help it!" Corin's voice cracked.
Azelon veered suddenly to the right. "This way!"
They followed him down a steep embankment toward a rocky outcropping. Azelon dropped to his knees, pointing to a narrow crevice between two boulders.
"In here. Quickly."
Jamie pushed Corin ahead of him, then squeezed into the tight space. Azelon slipped in last, his larger frame barely fitting through the opening.
The cave was little more than a crack in the rock, forcing them to press tightly together in near-darkness. Jamie found himself sandwiched between the two Veridians, Corin trembling against his chest, Azelon a solid presence at his back.
"Will it find us?" Jamie whispered.
"If we stay quiet and—" Azelon broke off as a red-tinged light filled the small space. Corin's emotional projection was manifesting visibly now, panic made luminous around them.
"Corin," Azelon hissed. "Control it."
"I'm trying," Corin gasped, but the glow intensified. Outside, they heard the shadow creature's movement change direction, heading toward their hiding place.
Jamie didn't think—he just acted. He wrapped his arms around Corin, pulling the fae against him in the confined space.
"Focus on me," he said, voice low but firm in Corin's ear. "Just me. Nothing else matters right now."
Corin's hands clutched at Jamie's shirt, his breathing erratic.
"I can't—it's going to find us?—"
"Look at me," Jamie commanded, tilting Corin's chin up. In the warm glow of Corin's projection, their faces were inches apart. "Breathe when I breathe. Feel my heartbeat. Match it."
Something in his voice cut through Corin's panic. The fae's eyes locked onto his, desperate for an anchor.
Jamie took a deliberate breath, then another. "That's it. Just focus on me."
Pressed against his back, Jamie felt Azelon go very still, watching them.
Gradually, the red glow dimmed. Outside, the shadow creature's movements grew less certain, its hissing more frustrated.
"It's working," Azelon murmured. "Keep going."
Jamie maintained his steady gaze on Corin, one hand moving to the back of the fae's neck in a grounding touch. "You're doing great," he murmured. "Stay with me."
The light faded further, leaving them in near-darkness. Corin's breathing synchronized with Jamie's, his trembling subsiding. Jamie felt an unexpected satisfaction at calming the chaotic fae, at being needed in this primal way.
They remained frozen in that position—Jamie holding Corin, Azelon pressed against Jamie's back—as minutes dragged by. Outside, the shadow creature prowled, searching, before eventually moving away.
"It's gone," Azelon finally said, his breath warm against Jamie's neck.
None of them moved immediately.
"That was..." Corin began, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
"Effective," Azelon finished, though Jamie sensed he'd been about to say something else.
