Page 134 of Unveiled

Connor had lived in this valley his entire life. He knew every path, every deer trail, every forgotten shepherd’s route, but he’d never seen the opening yawning beneath the ancient ridgeline. There were no animal tracks or scent markers.

He’d no memory of this cavern ever existing. The Labyrinth Underspan had opened for one reason only. To take Adrian.

Connor stood before the entrance, breath fogging in the cold air, fists clenched so tight his knuckles cracked. Fraser, Max, and Xiathen formed a tense semicircle behind him.

Connor growled. “If he’s hurt, if anything down there touched him, I’ll kill the entire bloody Council myself.”

Xiathen placed a hand on the stone. The rock twitched under his palm like muscle.

“The passage is unstable. The Underspan shifts shape.” He hesitated. “Perhaps I should come with you after all.”

“No. We agreed.” Connor’s voice cracked. “Adrian is my bonded. My vow. My responsibility.”

Fraser inhaled sharply.

Max muttered, “Bloody hell.”

Connor didn’t care. He turned his face toward the cave. The valley hummed, a low, mournful vibration rippling through the ground.

Adrian’s resonance.

Xiathen swallowed hard. “Be warned, the Underspan preys on fear. On memory. On loss.”

“It’ll be fucking terrified of me,” Connor growled, stepping forward.

Fraser grabbed his arm. “Connor, promise me you’ll call for help if you need it.”

Connor pulled free. “I promised Adrian,” he said softly, “that I’d bring him home.” With that, he stepped into the dark.

The tunnel swallowed him. The air was damp and thick, vibrating slightly, as if the entire cavern were breathing.

Connor’s wolf prowled beneath his skin, nervous, focused, furious. His claws ached to emerge. His vision sharpened.

Adrian’s scent drifted faintly in the air, sharp, warm, and yet defiant. Connor followed it like a starving beast.

The ground sloped down sharply. The walls pulsed faintly with thin veins of bluish-green light, the same colour as the fault lines.

“The Wood’s gift,” Connor whispered. “Adrian, what have they done to you?”

The tunnel twisted left, then right, before splitting into three corridors. Connor closed his eyes.

“Adrian,” he whispered, his voice low. “I need you. Give me something. Anything.”

Silence. Then a faint ripple in the air. A tug. Connor opened his eyes and turned right. He ran. The tunnel widened.

He entered a chamber filled with pale pillars, each twisted into strange, skeletal shapes. They gleamed faintly, as if carved from polished bone.

Connor crouched, sniffing. No animal scent. No magic. Just cold, dead bone. He stood and moved between the pillars.

As he passed, each pillar vibrated. Connor froze. The vibrations grew louder. Then the pillars began to change.

People emerged. Faces Connor knew, faces he feared or had lost.

His father, stern and dying. His mother, soft and fading. Clan members he’d failed to protect.

And Adrian. Not smiling. Not alive. Dead. Eyes empty. Lips blue. Shadow wrapped around his throat.

“No.” Connor slammed a hand into the pillar. Stone shattered. Another pillar reshaped. Adrian again, this time reaching for Connor as shadow dragged him under.