~Kaida Orion POV~
The fall felt endless, stone and dust tore at my skin and my hands groped at nothing, only to find more air rushing past. Somewhere below, Lupus's faint groan echoed, sharp and weak I tried to shout his name, but the wind stole my voice.
I hit water and the shock punched the breath from my lungs. Darkness swallowed me, but instinct drove me upward I broke the surface, gasping, hair plastered to my face. The underground lake stretched into blackness, the ceiling dripping in slow and hollow beats.
"Lupus!" My voice cracked.
A few feet away, a faint splash, I swam toward it and my fingers brushed fabric... his sleeve. I grabbed hold, dragging him toward a flat rock jutting from the water. He was limp but breathing, his pulse faint under my thumb.
I pressed his cold face to my shoulder. "Stay awake, please. Don't you dare leave me here!"
A scraping sound came from the darkness behind us and I froze. Biat's voice echoed from above, faint but urgent.
