One second, he was speaking, the other second, he was disappearing from their sight.
His jaw tightened, his pace doubling as he surged ahead, senses stretched to catch the faintest trail of Lyone's essence. The boy had no business in these tunnels—but he was here, and he was terrified.
Another scream followed. Not Lyone's this time—someone else, cut short with a wet, gurgling sound. Then the rumble of beasts, closer now, shaking the ground beneath their boots.
The squad broke into a sprint, the narrow walls funneling their movements. Their torches flickered as air shifted from the massive shapes pushing through corridors somewhere ahead.
Damien's mind moved as fast as his body. The tunnels were closing, monsters released, Lyone inside at the same time… This wasn't what he had in mind at all!
He clenched his fist, suppressing the anger boiling in his chest. Whoever set this trap had miscalculated one thing.
Damien was down here.
