I turn to Theo. “Can you track it?”
He nods, already moving. “This way. I can feel her now—like a pull.”
Gray falls into step beside him, senses sharpened. Wes follows close behind, steadier than he’s been in weeks. Jace and Rhett flank the group, weapons ready. Stellan brings up the rear, silent but present.
And I take point.
Because if there’s a door, I’ll kick it open. If there’s a wall, I’ll tear it down. If something stands between us and her, I’ll rip it apart with my bare hands.
The Void shifts around us as we move, shadows curling and retreating. We’re not the same men who fell into this place a year ago.
We’re something harder now. Sharper.
Desperate enough to burn the world if it means bringing her home.
The silver light grows stronger ahead, and for the first time in months, I let myself believe.
If the world’s still out there when we break through, we’ll fight our way back to it
If it isn’t, then we’ll make one.
Chapter 2
Theo
The silver veins pulse through the dark like exposed nerves, and my head throbs in time with them.
We’ve been walking for hours. Maybe days. Time’s a joke here, but exhaustion isn’t.
The vision hits again—third time since Thane gave the order to move. I don’t fight it anymore. Fighting just makes it worse.
A horseshoe.
Right…
Suspended in black water that isn’t water, turning end over end. Silver script covers the curved surface, glowing like the eyes of the creatures Gray hunts. I can read it this time—shapes that feel like words, though not in any language I know.
Luck. Warning. Path.
The horseshoe spins faster, and I catch the reflection in its surface: not my face, but something with too many eyes, watching back.
Then it’s gone.
I stumble, reach for nothing. The Void doesn’t offer handholds.
“You good?” Jace’s voice cuts through the dark, closer than I expected.
“Fine.”
“You look like you’re about to puke.”
“I’mfine.”
I’m not fine. I haven’t been fine since we fell into this place. But I’m functional, and that’s all that matters.
The visions haven’t stopped—they’ve sharpened. Every step we take toward Bree, they get clearer. Louder. More insistent.
And I’m done pretending they’re just fragments.
