Kael pulled himself over the edge of the shaft and rolled onto the ground.
For a moment he just lay there, staring up at the night sky.
The twin moons of Terrava hung high above the ridge, their pale light washing the mining terraces in silver light.
Cool air filled his lungs.
He laughed quietly.
He couldn't help it.
His entire life he had been Groundless.
The one person in the mining camp who couldn't feel the earth the way the others could.
The one who had to rely on drills and steel rods while the others shaped stone with their hands.
Now…
Kael pushed himself upright.
The ground beneath him felt alive with quiet structure.
Weight.
Balance.
Pressure flowing through the rock beneath the ridge.
He could feel it all.
Kael flexed his fingers slowly.
The sensation answered immediately.
Stone shifting beneath the mountain.
Tiny fractures threading through the rock.
The entire slope beneath the mine felt clear to him now.
He shook his head in disbelief.
"If the others could see this…"
The thought faded almost as quickly as it came.
Because if the others saw this…
They would ask questions.
Questions he couldn't answer.
How could someone who had been Groundless his entire life suddenly have better control than miners who had trained since childhood?
Kael turned back toward the shaft behind him.
The slabs he had moved were still shifted aside, leaving a clear opening down into the cavern.
Moonlight spilled into the darkness below.
It would take the miners only seconds to notice something had changed.
Too much had changed.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"This would take weeks to explain."
And even then they might not believe him.
Carefully, he knelt beside the opening and placed his hand against the stone.
The mountain responded instantly.
The tension between the slabs still lingered in the rock.
Kael focused.
One by one, the stones slid back into their previous positions.
Heavy grinding sounds echoed softly as the slabs wedged themselves together again.
Within moments the shaft looked exactly as it had earlier that day.
Blocked.
Dangerous.
Untouched.
Kael leaned back slightly and studied the collapse.
Perfect.
No one would notice.
The mountain hummed quietly beneath his feet.
Kael stood slowly.
His excitement hadn't faded.
If anything, it had grown stronger.
Because the more he focused, the more he realized how deep the sensation ran.
He could feel the entire ridge beneath the mining camp.
The tunnels.
The pressure lines in the rock.
Even the places where the miners had drilled earlier that day.
It was overwhelming.
And incredible.
Kael ran a hand through his dark hair and looked toward the settlement.
The camp was quiet.
Most of the lanterns had been extinguished.
Only a few faint lights remained in the distance.
His parents' house sat near the edge of the ridge, its windows dark.
They were asleep.
Good.
He wasn't ready to explain any of this.
Not yet.
Kael glanced back once more at the hidden shaft behind him.
The chamber beneath the mountain remained silent.
Waiting.
Then he turned and began walking back toward the settlement.
For now, the secret beneath the ridge belonged only to him.