Mira woke to the sound of metal striking metal.
Clang.
The noise rang sharply through the small cave chamber.
She blinked awake, her mind sluggish for a moment before awareness returned. The cold stone beneath her back and the damp smell of the cave reminded her instantly where she was.
Prison.
Another clang echoed against the bars. Slowly.
Three hefty men stood outside the cell. Their faces were strong and unreadable, their bodies broad enough to block most of the narrow corridor behind them.
Mira pushed herself upright.
Across from her, Thea was still asleep.
Mira reached over and tapped her shoulder.
"Wake up."
Thea stirred groggily before sitting up with confusion clouding her face. She thought she was in her bed for a moment, but realized it never felt this hard, and didn't reek of blood.
The three men opened the barred gate with a harsh scrape of iron against rock.
"Come with us," one of them said.
His tone made it clear this wasn't a request.
Mira stood without argument. Thea followed close behind her, still trying to shake the sleep from her head.
The guards surrounded them as they began walking deeper into the cave system.
The path slanted downward, and the air grew cooler the farther they went. Torches burned along the walls at uneven intervals, their flickering light throwing long shadows across the rough stone.
Mira kept her eyes open.
Observing.
Counting turns.
Memorizing the layout as best she could.
'one left turn after the second torch'
Eventually they reached a section of the cave where development had barely touched the stone. The walls were rougher here, the ground uneven.
Two people waited for them.
***
One stood silently near the wall.
The other sat on a crude stone chair carved directly into the cave floor.
Mira noticed the seated man first.
He looked gruff.
Weathered.
But there was something else about him.
Something regal.
Authority clung to him like a second skin.
There was no doubt in Mira's mind.
This man was one of the heads of the Chamber. Or the only head.
He gestured casually toward a flat stone placed opposite him.
"Sit."
Mira hesitated only briefly before doing as he asked.
Thea remained standing beside her.
The moment Mira sat down she noticed it.
The man's eyes.
There was intent there.
Focused.
Expectant.
He already knew something about her.
He had been waiting.
Waiting for her arrival.
Which meant something else was also obvious.
Thea wasn't the reason they were here.
She was just a victim of circumstance.
The man leaned forward slightly.
"Mira, right?"
His voice was calm.
Controlled. The regality echoed long after the echoes had.
"I have one question for you. Answer it well, and you'll be out of here in minutes."
He paused.
The silence stretched.
"Otherwise…"
The unfinished sentence hung in the air.
But Mira didn't need him to finish it.
Her mind completed the threat easily.
Over and over again. In different scenarios.
The man folded his hands together.
"Where were you about a week ago?"
Mira's eyes widened before she could stop the reaction.
The question wasn't random.
It was a probe.
A carefully aimed one.
They were fishing for information.
About the corridor.
Maybe even about the Owl.
Mira forced her expression to calm.
She didn't answer.
Instead she watched the people in the room.
The man standing near the wall.
The guards behind them.
The way their shoulders shifted.
The way their eyes moved.
She tried to read their body language. If they were willing to torture.
But one thought kept echoing in her mind.
She didn't feel right telling them about it.
The corridor wasn't meant for people like this. It wasn't meant for anyone.
The man spoke again.
The same question.
But his voice had darkened slightly.
"Where were you about a week ago?"
This time Mira remained completely silent.
The silence grew heavier.
Almost deafening.
The man watched her for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"I'm not going to push further," he said.
He leaned back in his stone chair.
"And I'm not in the right mindset to torture girls today."
The words were spoken casually.
As if he were commenting on the weather.
"So I'll give you time to think."
He gestured toward the guards.
"One day."
"In that time you'll receive no food. No water."
His eyes settled on Mira again.
"You can accept that."
Then he glanced briefly at Thea.
"And she will have to accept it too."
The absurdity of the situation struck Mira immediately.
Not the punishment.
That part was expected.
No.
The strange thing was the man himself.
The trials had begun barely a month ago.
And somehow he had already gathered this much power.
Authority.
Followers.
Control.
It was impressive.
But also fragile.
Power like his didn't come from competence.
It came from first impressions.
From stepping forward when others hesitated.
From speaking confidently when doubt filled the room.
But impressions faded.
Eventually people would notice the cracks.
Eventually someone more capable would take the position.
Mira knew it wouldn't last forever. But it mattered now.
The guards pulled them back to their feet.
Moments later they were walking through the tunnels again.
The prison bars clanged shut behind them.
Once more they were alone.
Left to brood in silence.
***
Far away from the Chamber's underground headquarters, Khalifa watched the hill from a distance.
But Ronan walked closer.
The structure intrigued him.
And frightened him.
It might be dangerous.
But at the very least it could serve as shelter.
They had spent the night just outside the hill, preparing themselves as best they could before investigating it.
Now morning had arrived. And procrastinating any further would be bad.
And Ronan had decided he would be the one to approach.
The slope at the center of the eastern face of the hill was strangely smooth. Smooth enough that climbing wasn't necessary.
He could simply walk upward.
As he did, sunlight glistened faintly through the mist.
Ronan squinted slightly.
This was only the second place in the forest where the sun seemed to pierce the fog easily.
The first had been the Owl's nest.
The similarity wasn't lost on him.
He wondered if someone lived inside the hill.
If the forest had indigenous people. Intelligent people.
Not just predators.
And if it did…
Whether they would be friendly. He remembered the stories of cannibalism of Indians his father had always told him.
The thought lingered uneasily in his mind as he continued upward.
That was when he noticed the defenses.
Crossbows.
Massive ones.
Each nearly the size of a medium refrigerator.
They were placed along the slope every few meters.
Beside each one sat jars filled with flammable resin.
Ronan's eyes narrowed.
He looked closer at the ground.
Trenches of ash surrounded the hill. He had seen it on his ascend, but he had noticed it now.
Broken weapons lay buried beneath the soil just beneath the surface.
Fragments of metal.
Pieces of bone.
This place hadn't just been a shelter.
It had been a war city.
A fortress.
A stronghold built to withstand sieges. Or to wage them.
Ronan felt excitement stir in his chest.
Because if it was abandoned…
It could become theirs.
The hill was only about as tall as a two-story building, so it didn't take long to reach the entrance.
The opening was dark.
But surprisingly neat.
Maintained.
Someone had taken care of this place.
A small ripple of apprehension ran through Ronan.
He summoned his ink spear.
The weapon formed in his hand with a soft ripple of black liquid solidifying into shape.
Behind him, Khalifa watched from a safe distance.
She didn't move any closer.
Ronan rolled his eyes slightly. Disappointment rolling with them.
Back in the real world she had always presented herself as fearless.
And most people believed it.
But entering a dark room in a printing press building was very different from walking into an eerie cave in a monster-filled forest.
He stepped inside.
The interior surprised him.
Carvings decorated the stone walls.
Weapons rested neatly in racks.
Simple beds lined parts of the chamber.
Shelves held containers filled with food.
Some of the items had rotted.
Others looked fresh.
Preserved.
Ronan forced himself not to dwell on the discovery.
Not yet.
He needed to make sure the place was empty first.
The interior passage revealed a staircase carved directly into the hill.
The stairs spiraled downward.
Deeper.
Into darkness.
Ronan tightened his grip on the spear.
Until he confirmed there were no inhabitants, he wouldn't allow himself to relax.
He stepped onto the stairs and began descending.
One step at a time.
The deeper he went, the clearer something became.
The hill was larger than it appeared from outside.
Much larger.
There were more levels than three.
Several extended below ground level.
But that wasn't what he should have been paying attention to.
Suddenly—
He saw it.
A pair of eyes.
Dark.
Hungry.