MIA
In the forest, Mia crouched beside a smear of strange pink, viscous goo streaked across the ground. She touched it lightly, brows knitting in curiosity.
"Guys, I may have found something," she called out.
"Us too!" Sire's voice echoed from somewhere ahead.
Mia rose quickly and followed the sound. She pushed through a tight cluster of trees and stumbled into a small clearing. Signs of a recent camp were everywhere—makeshift shelter, scattered footprints, a dead firepit.
"Yep, they were definitely here," Mickey said, raising his scanner. "Their resonance signatures are all over this place."
Mia's heart leapt, excitement sparking through her chest.
"Damon?" she asked hopefully.
"No… not him," Mickey said, and her hope instantly deflated.
"Guys, it seems like Lyrian and Reone are headed to Volaria," Nova reported, checking her data panel.
"Volaria?" Seren echoed. "Why not Echian?Where are they going?"
"Maybe they're following Damon?" Sire suggested.
"That is the most logical conclusion," Nova agreed. "And my calculations show they left only a few hours ago. Probably this morning."
Mia's breath hitched.
Finally.
They were close to finding them. Maybe close to finding Damon too.
Hopefully.
Her anger toward him still simmered hot. She'd been getting updates from Dane at the palace on Rhys's condition. Nothing had changed.
Still in a coma.
All because of him, Mia thought bitterly.
"What's that on your hand, Mia?" Sire asked suddenly.
Jolted from her angry thoughts, Mia looked down. Her fingertips were still coated in the sticky pink substance.
"Oh… this. This is what I found earlier. There's a whole patch of it on the ground over there," she said, pointing with her chin.
Nova stepped closer, examining it with a frown.
"It looks highly unusual. Let me scan it."
She lifted her device and scanned Mia's hand.
"Curious," Nova murmured, eyes narrowing at the screen.
"What? What is it?" Mia asked.
"I… I… don't know."
Silence dropped like a stone.
Nova almost never said that.
"What?" Mia exclaimed. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"It's not showing up as any known substance."
"Maybe the scanner's broken?" Mickey offered.
"I don't believe so," Nova replied, though she still eyed the device suspiciously.
"Guys, are you here?" came Diamond's voice before she pushed through the bushes. She stopped short, taking in the clearing. "Whoa. What is this place?"
"We think Reone and Lyrian camped here and left it this morning," Seren explained.
"Really? That's wonderful. At this rate,We'll find them in no time."
"You find anything?" Seren asked.
"Not unless the most gorgeous waterfall you've ever seen counts as something," Diamond said dramatically. "It looked like the perfect place for a swim."
"We don't have time for that, babe. We have to keep searching in case Lyrian and Reone are in trouble," Sire reminded her.
"I know, I know. I was just saying," Diamond muttered.
"I think we're better off searching from the jet," Seren suggested. "It's safer."
"I second that. This forest gives me the creeps," Diamond said with a shiver.
Mia sighed. "Fine. Let's all get back to the jet."
A chorus of agreement followed as they began heading back.
"You guys think Lyrian and Reone are okay?" Seren asked quietly.
"Of course they are. What could possibly happen to them?" Diamond replied casually.
"In this place? The possibilities are endless," Mickey pointed out.
"Mickey, you are correct," Nova said.
"Guys, a little optimism?" Diamond snapped.
"Lyrian and Reone are fine," Mia cut in firmly. "They have to be."
Even so, a cold dread twisted slowly in her stomach.
Her instincts whispered that something was very, very wrong.
She hoped that whatever was happeninv, Lyrian and Reone would continue holding on-just a little longer, atleast until they found them.
*****
REONE
He pushed through the forest at the fastest pace his Legion body could manage with Lyrian's cold, limp body cradled in his arms. He kept telling himself she'd be fine—that none of this was real...but her stillness told another story.
He increased his pace.
The trees ahead of him stretched endlessly. No cave in sight.
A spike of worry stabbed through him.
He hoped the Darel,the Extractor hadn't lied. For both their sakes.
Breaking through a thicket of brush, Reone stumbled into a clearing—and froze.
There it was.
A cave. A massive, shadowed entrance yawning before him.
Relief crashed into him.
At least that part of the Nullborn Extractor's story had been true.
"Hold on, Lyrian," he whispered. "I'm going to save you."
He hurried inside. The cave would've been pitch-black if not for the torches lining the walls—clearly left behind by the Extractors who'd been here earlier. The place was empty but littered with their gear. They'd tunneled every inch of this place.
The sight made his stomach turn.
Still holding Lyrian tightly, he focused on what Darel—the Extractor who'd betrayed the others—had told him. The Diviners were supposed to be deeper in the cave. The Extractors had been close to finding "the nest."
So if he followed the torches…
He quickened his pace in that direction.
The deeper he went, the quieter the cave became. No footsteps. No voices. Nothing but the drip of distant water.
It was unnerving.But he marched on.
Finally, the torches ended. Beyond lay only darkness.
This must have been where the Extractors turned back—where the Diviner had appeared and led them away.
A prickling dread crept across Reone's spine as he realized this.
But one look at Lyrian's pale face kept him moving.
******
It wasnt long until he felt it.
A presence.
Maybe more than one.
Watching.
He whipped his head around. Nothing. Just silence.
"Hello?" his voice echoed. "Is anybody there?"
Nothing.
Everything pointed to him being alone but years of hardened instints told him otherwise.
"Please—I need help." His eyes burned as he looked at Lyrian. "My girlfriend is hurt."
Still no response.
It drove him crazy.
Reone let out a frustrated and angry grumt.
A sense of opelessness started crushing down on him. He slid to the ground slowly, leaning against the cold wall, Lyrian in his arms.
This was it, he thought. He'd been played.
And Lyrian was gone.Really gone.
"I'm sorry,Lyrian," he breathed, forehead pressed to her chest. "I failed you. Again."
Tears blurred his vision.
He didn't notice the danger until it was already upon him.
Masked figures dropped silently from the ceiling, landing in a perfect circle around him.
Reone's head snapped up.
They were fast. Silent. Deadly. They pointed spears at him.
Still kneeling, with Lyrian in his arms, he barely had time to reach behind him and lift his spiral weapon.
The figures tensed.
"Whoever you are, get back," Reone warned. His voice cracked but stayed firm. "I'll use this. I'm warning you."
"We have you surrounded," the figure in front said. His tone was low, cold, commanding. "Drop your weapon. Dont try anything—unless you want to get hurt."