"CAPTAIN!"
"KAI!"
"YOU FUCKING—"
Mel's voice broke into a roar, his arm snapping forward, green veins glowing as vines began to surge from the water.
He was seconds away from launching them—ready to strike the octopus with everything he had—when two forces stopped him.
Mio grabbed his wrist, holding him back with both hands, and Eli stumbled forward, throwing out an arm to block him.
"Run!" Eli shouted, his voice raw, his throat tight. He didn't feel danger—no warning pulse, no flare from his ability—but the silence in his chest terrified him even more.
Because Kairo was gone. And none of them knew if he was even—
No. He couldn't finish that thought.
"But—But the Captain!" Mel's voice cracked, his tone panicked, desperate. His vines trembled in the air, hesitating between attack and retreat.
"We have to get back! We have to retreat!" Mio barked, pushing Mel again.
