Darkness spat them onto cold stone.
Sunrei hit the ground rolling, his brand flaring as his vision swam. The air smelled of damp earth and iron they were back in the caves beneath the Maw, the walls pulsing with that same sickening rhythm.
Kaelis groaned beside him, pushing herself onto her elbows. Did we just
Die? Cael's voice came from the shadows. His missing brand scar pulsed violet in the dark. No. But we're not where we're supposed to be.
Sunrei's hands found rough stone as he stood. The last thing he remembered
The moon shattering. Something moving in the cracks.
His brand burned at the memory.
A whimper echoed through the cavern.
Human.
Familiar.
Sunrei's blood turned to ice. That's
Cael was already moving, his footsteps silent. They followed the sound to a side chamber, its entrance half-collapsed.
Inside, a figure hunched over a dying fire.
Old Man Harel.
The villager who'd died protecting Sunrei's secret.
Who was very much not dead.
Harel looked up, his milky eyes reflecting the firelight. Took you long enough, boy.
Kaelis's knife was in her hand before Sunrei could blink. You're dead.
Harel spat into the fire. Aye. And so are you, if the Maw catches your scent.
Sunrei stepped forward, his brand itching. How are you here?
The old man's grin revealed blackened teeth. Same way you are. The Eclipse doesn't just eat memories it spits 'em back out sometimes. Changed.
Cael stiffened. You're a Dreamer.
Harel's laugh became a cough. Clever boy. He pointed a gnarled finger at Sunrei. But not clever enough. You broke the moon, idiot.
The ground trembled as if in agreement.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Harel's grin faded. They're coming.
Sunrei's hand went to his dagger. Who?
The ones the moon was keeping out. Harel's eyes rolled back, his voice dropping to a whisper. The Forgotten.
Then
A sound.
Not from the tunnels.
From inside the walls.
Something was scratching.
Kaelis backed toward the exit. We need to move.
Harel didn't rise. Too late for running.
The scratching grew louder. Closer.
Then
The wall split.
Pale fingers pushed through the stone, their nails black and cracked. A face followed—sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, lips stitched shut with coarse thread.
Sunrei's brand screamed.
The Forgotten tilted its head, its stitched mouth straining against the threads. When it spoke, the voice came from its chest:
Prince.
More hands burst through the walls. Dozens of them.
Cael grabbed Sunrei's arm. The brands. They're drawn to them!
Harel chuckled wetly. Told you.
The first Forgotten pulled itself free, its limbs too long, its joints bending the wrong way.
Kaelis threw a knife.
It passed straight through.
Harel sighed. Can't kill what's already dead, girl.
Sunrei stepped forward, his brand blazing. But you can burn it.
He reached out
And grabbed the Forgotten's wrist.
Fire erupted where skin met skin.
The Forgotten shrieked, its form flickering between solid and shadow as violet flames consumed it. The others hesitated, their hollow eyes fixed on Sunrei's brand.
Cael didn't wait. He lunged, his missing brand scar flaring as his fists connected with another Forgotten. Where he struck, black fluid sprayed real this time.
Kaelis fought back-to-back with Sunrei, her knives finding purchase now that the creatures had solidified. They're weaker when they're burning!
Harel watched from his place by the fire, his milky eyes tracking every move. "Not bad," he muttered. Not bad at all.
A Forgotten grabbed Sunrei from behind, its stitched lips brushing his ear:
She remembers you.
Then Cael was there, yanking it away and snapping its neck with a vicious twist.
The cavern trembled.
More cracks appeared in the walls.
Harel struggled to his feet. Enough playing. Follow me if you want to live.
He shuffled toward the back of the chamber, where the stone looked darker.
Sunrei hesitated.
Kaelis wiped black fluid from her cheek. Do we trust him?
Cael's jaw tightened. No. But we follow anyway.
The Forgotten's words echoed in Sunrei's skull:
She remembers you.
He took a step
The ground opened beneath them.
They fell into blackness.
Sunrei's brand flared, casting violet light over the tunnel walls rushing past. The stone was carved with faces thousands of them, their mouths open in silent screams.
Harel's voice came from somewhere ahead: Brace yourselves!
Sunrei hit water.
Black water.
The glass lake from the Moon's Cradle, only now it filled an underground river, its current dragging them deeper into the earth. Sunrei surfaced, gasping, just in time to see Kaelis go under.
He dove after her.
The water was colder than ice, its darkness absolute. His brand's light barely pierced it, revealing shapes moving just beyond sight
Hands. Faces. Eyes.
Something grabbed his ankle.
Sunrei kicked free, his lungs burning as he reached for Kaelis. Her fingers brushed his
A current yanked them apart.
Then
Light.
The river spat them into a cavern so vast its ceiling was lost in shadow. The black water pooled here, forming a still lake beneath a crumbling stone bridge.
Harel stood on its edge, his arms outstretched. Welcome to the underbelly.
Sunrei dragged himself onto the shore, his brand flickering weakly. Where
Kaelis surfaced with a gasp. Cael followed, his missing brand scar dull.
Harel pointed up.
Sunrei followed his finger
And saw the Maw.
Its teeth formed the cavern's ceiling, each longer than a man. Its throat was the tunnel they'd fallen through.
And its eyes...
Its eyes were open.
Watching.
Waiting.
Harel limped to a rusted metal door set into the cavern wall. "Through here. Quickly.
Sunrei didn't move. What is this place?
The Maw's larder. Harel's grin was all rot. Where it keeps the tastiest morsels.
The door creaked open, revealing a tunnel lined with
Cells.
Each held a figure. Some human. Some not. All bore brands.
Kaelis sucked in a breath. Gods above.
Harel chuckled. They don't come down here.
A whisper came from the nearest cell:
Prince.
Sunrei turned.
The silver-haired girl from his memories stared back at him through the bars.
Not Lithriel.
Younger.
Her brand glowed violet as she pressed a hand to the glass.
You came back.
Sunrei's breath caught.
He knew that face.
Knew that voice.
Knew her.
Lina?
His sister.
The one he'd forgotten.
The one he'd left behind.
The Maw laughed.
The sound shook the cavern, sending rocks tumbling into the black lake.
Harel's grin vanished. Oh. That's not good.
The cells began to unlock.
One by one.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Lina's smile didn't waver as her door swung open.
They're coming, brother.
Behind them, the black water began to boil.