"I can feel water in the cave from here. It's... wrong. Corrupted. But it's there. If you can stay near it, I might be able to—"
"You won't be there." Briar's voice was emotionless. "I go alone."
"We'll be at the entrance. If you can get close enough—"
"Sian." Briar cut her off gently. "Thank you. But we both know I'm not coming out of that cave."
"You don't know that."
But she did. She could feel it in the way everyone had gone quiet when Mor'va described it. Fifty years of warriors entering and none returning. She was human, untrained, already injured. The math was simple.
Night fell properly, the amber lights in the tree structure dimming to almost nothing. Briar lay on the sleeping platform, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about tomorrow. The warmth in her chest pulsed steadily, almost like it was trying to comfort her.
She must have dozed, because suddenly Eliam's voice was in her cell, though she knew that was impossible.
"Briar."
She sat up, heart racing. But no, he was above her, his voice carrying through the wood itself somehow.
"I'm here," she said.
"Move to the western wall."
She did, pressing her hand against the smooth wood. She felt it warm under her touch, and then suddenly the wood was thin as paper, her hand pressing through to meet his. Not breaking the cell, not creating an escape, just thinning the barrier enough for contact.
His fingers interlaced with hers immediately, desperately.
"I'm going to kill them all," he said, his voice deadly calm. "Every last one of them. For this."
"No, you're not." She squeezed his hand. "You're going to get to the seal. You're going to stop Malus. That's what matters."
"You matter." The words came out raw. "You matter more than any of it."
"Eliam—"
"I should have stopped you. Should have known you'd do something stupidly noble. Should have—" He cut himself off, his grip tightening. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't."
"Then I'll go into the cave with you."
"They won't let you."
"I don't care what they let—"
"Eliam." She pressed her other hand to the wood, wishing she could see him. "If you interfere, they'll kill everyone."
“If you fail they’ll kill us anyway.”
Briar was quiet. “I know you’ll figure something out.”
His silence was answer enough.
"Promise me," she said. "Promise me you'll get to the seal. That you'll stop Malus. That this won't be for nothing."
"Briar—"
"Promise me."
