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Stepping back into the deep crusts sent a cold shudder down my spine, despite the oppressive subterranean heat clinging to the air.

Being down here again was a heavy, suffocating weight. My mind flashed to the terrifying blur of my capture—the dark, the chains, the absolute despair of believing I’d never see the light or Kaelen again. But as I took a deep breath, the metallic mark at my throat thrummed with a steady, golden warmth, grounding me.

I was no longer a captive. The chains were gone. The fear was dead.

"The main path to the lower console is buried," Kaelen growled, stopping at a massive wall of fallen boulders and a collapsed ceiling. He tested the rockfall’s stability with his palm before turning to his warriors. "We take the eastern detour through the old holding vents."

As we navigated the winding side passages, a familiar shape in the jagged stone caught my eye. My breath hitched. It was the break in the caverns where I had been held—the very cell where I had first caught sight of Tyler, bruised and chained in the dark.

I checked my stride and turned to Kaelen. "I’m going to break off here and check the holding cells. See if anything was left behind."

Kaelen’s golden eyes narrowed immediately, his jaw setting into a tight, protective line. "Lyra⁠—"

"I’ll be fine," I murmured gently, stepping closer. "It’s just a quick check."

With a low, reluctant grumble, Kaelen reached into his belt and pulled out the familiar, bone-handled dagger I had dropped during the attack on the Nest. He pressed the hilt into my palm, his heavy fingers lingering over mine.

"You do not leave my sight easily, little star," he growled softly, turning his head to command one of the vanguard warriors. "Jarek. Accompany my mate. Do not leave her side."

"Understood, Huntmaster," the broad-shouldered warrior acknowledged, stepping into position behind me.

I smiled softly, rising up on my tiptoes so Kaelen didn't have to strain his towering height. I pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips. "I love you," I whispered against his mouth.

Kaelen leaned down, pressing his broad forehead against mine, his golden eyes burning with fierce devotion. "I love you," he rumbled, his voice thick with emotion. "Be safe. And do not do anything stupid."

"Never," I smirked, squeezing his hand once before turning down the side tunnel with Jarek close at my heels.

The holding area was in complete shambles. Massive stone pillars had buckled, burying most of the alcoves beneath tons of rubble and shattered bone.

As I walked down the ruined corridor, a strange, sudden sensation washed over me. A soft, impossible breeze rippled through the stagnant air—cool, gentle, and deliberate, caressing the skin of my neck like a guiding hand. The Alu'un.

Trusting the quiet tug in my chest, I followed the subtle draft as it swept past the main cells and nudged me toward a secluded, shadow-drenched archway.

The moment I stepped across the threshold, there was no mistaking whose space this had been.

The chamber reeked of Sila’s bitter, oppressive aura. High mantlepieces carved directly into the basalt walls were lined with bleached skulls—trophies of slain rival clan leaders and Vanguard beasts—alongside darkened iron weapons hanging as grotesque ornaments.

Near the centre of the room sat a massive, low-profile bed, crudely crafted from petrified wood and dark basalt stone, piled high with coarse furs and tattered pelts. My stomach churned as my eyes caught the heavy, rusted metal chains bolted directly into the stone corner posts of the bed—the crude iron cuffs dangling ominously over the furs, silent witnesses to the torment inflicted within these walls.

A sickening wave of revulsion washed over me as my gaze shifted to the far corner.

Tucked away in the shadow of Sila's platform was a crude, cramped bone cage. A heavy iron chain dangled from the bars, attached to a thick, brutal leather collar.

The realisation hit me with a sickening wave of revulsion. This was where Tyler had been kept. Sila hadn't just imprisoned him; she had kept him like an animal at her feet.

Swallowing back the rising of bile, I stepped closer to the cage. Amidst the mouldy rags and filthy blankets lining the floor, a tiny glint caught my eye. I reached through the bars, pulling back a torn cloth, and found a small, smooth stone. It had been painstakingly carved into the shape of a simple, shining sun.

My chest ached as I closed my fingers tightly around it. Through all the torture and degradation Sila had inflicted on him, Tyler had held onto this tiny piece of hope. I slipped the carved stone safely into my pouch.

Needing air, I turned my back on the grim chamber and stepped back out into the main corridor, letting the quiet weight of the stone cells settle around me as I searched the outer alcoves.

I had only gone a few yards down the passage when another gentle gust of wind brushed past my cheek, swirling around my ankles and tugging me toward a third, heavily wrecked doorway further down the hall—a mess where the lower-level Vakra servants had lodged.

I stepped through the debris. Dust hung thick in the air, coating shattered clay pots and torn furs. Nothing looked remotely salvageable, but as I turned to leave, my eyes locked onto something half-buried under a pile of filthy, blood-stained rags.

I knelt down and pulled it free.

It was a small, ragged, old teddy bear. The fabric was stained with dirt, grit, and dried blood, one button eye missing, but as I held it in my hands, a sudden, overwhelming wave of warmth brushed down our bond.