The earth closed above us with a deafening groan.
For one terrifying heartbeat, every instinct I possessed screamed.
Run.
Fight.
Dig.
Breathe.
But there was nowhere to run.
Nothing to fight.
Only darkness.
Not the comforting darkness of night.
Not the living shadows Raiden commanded.
This darkness was different.
Heavy.
Ancient.
The weight of an entire mountain pressed around us as Willow's roots wrapped gently around my waist, pulling me deeper through the stone as though the earth itself had become water.
It wasn't painful.
Not exactly.
Just...
wrong.
I couldn't tell where my body ended and the mountain began.
Stone brushed against my skin without touching it.
Roots curled around my wrists and ankles like guiding hands, steering rather than trapping.
Somewhere beside me, Revik let out a very undignified yell.
"I hate this!"
His voice came out strangely muffled, as though the earth swallowed half the sound before it reached me.
"I officially hate everything about this!"
Despite everything—
despite the king.
Despite Raiden.
Despite the relic waiting somewhere beneath us—
I smiled.
Willow's quiet voice drifted through the roots.
"You've said that four times."
"Because I've found four new things to hate!"
The roots shifted again.
The sensation made my stomach lurch.
"Oh, that's number five!"
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Real.
Unexpected.
The sound echoed strangely around us.
Revik immediately noticed.
"There she is."
"What?"
"You laughed."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"I breathed enthusiastically."
He snorted.
"Gods, you're getting worse."
"I learned from you."
"That's actually insulting."
Willow chuckled softly somewhere nearby.
"Muir warned you she was spending too much time with you."
"I refuse to accept responsibility."
The roots twisted once more.
Then—
light.
My boots struck solid ground.
I staggered forward, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the dim glow of pale green crystals embedded in the cavern walls.
The roots unwound themselves from around my body, slipping back into the stone as naturally as water flowing downhill.
Behind me, Revik stumbled out next, immediately dropping to one knee.
He pressed both palms dramatically against the ground.
"Oh, beautiful solid earth."
Willow raised an eyebrow.
"You were just complaining about the earth."
"I've changed my mind."
He kissed the stone.
"I've never loved anything more."
I couldn't help it.
I laughed again.
Louder this time.
Revik looked up triumphantly.
"I knew you had another laugh in you."
"You are ridiculous."
"I've been called worse."
"You've been called much worse."
He grinned.
"Usually by Muir."
The smile on my face softened.
I missed him already.
Willow noticed the change immediately but, thankfully, said nothing.
Instead, she turned slowly, studying our surroundings.
"We're deeper than I thought."
I followed her gaze.
The tunnel stretched in both directions, carved from smooth grey stone unlike anything I'd seen before.
Not rough.
Not natural.
Every wall had been deliberately shaped.
Ancient pillars disappeared into darkness overhead, supporting a ceiling so high I could barely make it out.
Roots as thick as tree trunks had broken through parts of the masonry over the centuries, nature slowly reclaiming what someone else had once built.
The air smelled...
old.
Not damp.
Not mouldy.
Just...
forgotten.
I ran my fingertips across the nearest wall.
Cold.
Smooth.
"This place is older than the prison."
Willow nodded.
"I think so too."
Revik finally stood, dusting himself off dramatically.
"So..."
He looked between us.
"...anyone know where we're going?"
I smiled.
"As a matter of fact..."
Reaching inside my cloak, I pulled out the tightly rolled parchment.
For a brief moment—
I simply looked at it.
Then I smiled to myself.
"I may have an idea."
Revik's eyes widened.
"I knew it!"
Willow looked over curiously.
"Knew what?"
"The hug!"
I blinked.
"What?"
He pointed accusingly at the piece of parchment.
"The hug!"
"Revik—"
"You hugged him so you could steal from him!"
Heat flooded my face.
"No!"
He folded his arms smugly.
"I knew there was something suspicious about that goodbye."
"That wasn't why I hugged him."
"No?"
"No."
"Then why did you?"
I opened my mouth.
Closed it again.
Because...
Because I had wanted to.
Because somewhere beneath everything else, I hadn't wanted to let go.
I wasn't about to admit that.
"I..." I began.
"It just..."
Revik's grin grew wider.
"Uh huh..."
"It wasn't why."
Willow tilted her head.
"But you did steal something."
"Yes."
"So..."
I sighed.
"...the opportunity presented itself."
Revik burst out laughing.
"I wish I could have seen his face when he realized."
"You and me both." Willow admitted.
"Ugh I'm so proud."
He wiped at his eyes.
"I can just imagine the look on his face."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
Because...
I already knew what that look would be.
A mixture of disbelief.
Annoyance.
Then—
begrudging amusement.
Little thief.
The memory of his voice brushed through my thoughts so vividly it almost felt real.
My smile faded before I realised it had been there.
Willow noticed.
Again.
She gently nudged my shoulder.
"Read the parchment. What does it say?"
Right.
The relic.
I carefully unrolled the parchment across a fallen section of stone.
Immediately—
my brows furrowed.
"This..."
Revik leaned over my shoulder.
"What?"
"This isn't one map."
It was several.
Layered over one another so carefully they almost looked like a single drawing.
The oldest layer had been inked in faded brown, the lines uneven with age.
Over that, someone had added precise measurements in black ink.
Then another hand had marked routes in charcoal.
Finally, fresh pencil notes crisscrossed everything else.
Small.
Neat.
Methodical.
I traced one line with my finger.
"He didn't make this."
Revik frowned.
"Who?"
"Raiden."
"No?"
I shook my head.
"This first layer..." I tapped the faded ink.
"...it's centuries old."
"The prison's original plans."
My finger moved to the darker markings.
"These are military surveys."
"Taken after the Fire Kingdom occupied the Earth Kingdom."
Willow crouched beside me.
"So my father gave them access to the archives."
"Exactly."
Revik scratched the back of his neck.
"So..."
"...he stole someone else's map?"
I smiled faintly.
"Not exactly."
I pointed to the newest markings.
"These."
The handwriting was different.
Sharper.
Cleaner.
Purposeful.
Measurements.
Numbers.
Symbols.
Questions.
Tiny arrows.
Someone had studied every inch of this parchment.
"He sent scouts."
Willow nodded immediately.
"Of course."
I looked over the notes again.
"He never intended to explore the tunnels himself."
"No ruler would."
"He sent teams."
I pointed to a series of small marks beside different passages.
"Look."
Revik leaned closer.
"They're all different."
A circle.
A cross.
A triangle.
Numbers beside each.
Dates.
Small notes.
"These aren't directions," I murmured.
"They're reports."
Understanding settled over me all at once.
"He divided the prison into sections."
"Each scouting team took a different route."
"When they returned..."
I tapped the updated lines.
"...their discoveries were added to the master map."
Revik let out a low whistle.
"That's..."
"Smart."
I nodded slowly.
"Very."
Not because he'd explored.
Because he hadn't.
He'd understood something I would have done myself.
Never risk the commander when information can come to you instead.
It was efficient.
Calculated.
And infuriatingly brilliant.
A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"I would've done exactly the same thing."
Willow looked at me knowingly.
"I thought you might say that."
I didn't deny it.
Because she was right.
Raiden and I approached problems differently.
He planned.
I adapted.
But the thought process—
the strategy—
was often frighteningly similar.
Revik pointed suddenly.
"Hold on."
My gaze followed his finger.
The markings...
stopped.
Abruptly.
One entire section of the prison remained untouched.
No reports.
No symbols.
No notes.
Nothing.
The parchment simply...
ended.
My smile disappeared.
"No..."
Willow looked at me.
"What?"
I ran my fingers over the blank section.
The paper hadn't been damaged.
It hadn't been forgotten.
It had simply...
never been completed.
"This wasn't finished."
Silence settled around us.
Deep beneath the mountain, surrounded by forgotten stone and ancient roots, I felt the first stirrings of unease.
Because if Raiden's scouts had mapped almost everything...
Why had they stopped here?