I rush forward with a cry, but being inside only confirms that her entire cryochamber is missing.
I whip back toward Thivoll. "What do you smell?"
He takes in one of his long, whistling breaths. "Not a hunter. Some sort of prey, but not one I've ever encountered. I would guess male from the pheromones."
My heart drops. "Is she alive, you think?"
"I don't smell any blood. If they wanted to eat her, they would have just smashed open her chamber, not taken it. There aren't any drag marks, just a few disturbances in the dust on the floor."
"Oh, Silver," I breathe out.
No other words come to me. I can't seem to keep the woman safe, no matter what I do.
We continue searching, this time taking a much closer look for clues.
I'm not sure how we missed it as we came in, but there is a message written in what looks and smells like a ration pack on the wall of the main cave.
The writing is in fluid whorls and loops that the rough cave wall does nothing to diminish the beauty of, but the message is a chilling counterpoint.
I'm still staring at it with dread skittering along my skin and raising the hair on the back of my neck as Thivoll comes up beside me.
"Can you read it?"
"Yes. 'You hid what is meant for light. Moon daughter is mine."
He lets out a big huff of air. "That's excellent news."
"What? How is that good news?"
"He claimed ownership. That doesn't sound like someone planning to harm someone."
"The fuck, Thivoll? We aren't property!"
He holds out his hands toward me, palms out, his face flashing to violet. "I didn't say that, Ree."
"I've completely failed her if she traded one type of slavery for another. This is not fucking good news."
His whiskers droop and I feel like I've just kicked a puppy, but there's no room left amid the burning in my mind for apologies.
There's a weight in my chest that extends beyond the severity of the situation.
One my mind doesn't want to face just yet, even though it whispers that this is more about me than it's about Silver.
She can't be gone.
My lungs seize and my breath hitches. It was one thing to be away from her in pursuit of improving her health and environment.
I feel completely unmoored to no longer have her with me.
Thivoll is gazing at me, his whiskers lower than I've ever seen them before. I know I should comfort him, but there isn't space inside my roiling mind.
He hums and walks away, taking more long breaths. He does another sweep of the cave and then returns to embrace me.
I'm stiff in his arms, but I don't pull away. He repositions me so the glow of the bioluminescent lamp illuminates his open palm.
On top of it is a dark red scale with an oil-slick rainbow of colors on it where the light hits it.
"That's huge, Thivoll. If that's to scale based on snakes . . ."
