It was a cold and dark passageway. As soon as the door shut, they were in total darkness. They had a dim path forward, with only faint glow from the Root within Serakha's chest. The damp warm stone of the walls of the tunnel, somehow, moved like the mountain itself was breathing.
No one spoke for a long time. The damp air muffled their footsteps, softly. It was a hush, almost holy. It wasn't as if they were walking into a cave; what they were into, that alive thing, was something ancient.
Now the Root was humming stronger, Serakha could feel. It was almost a second heartbeat. The more they went, the louder the Stonesong was becoming. Now it had a presence, a sound. It was watching them, listening.
One hand on the hilt of his blade, Lucian walked beside her. "Do you think this is what it wanted?" he asked quietly.
Serakha nodded. "The Root brought us here. This is where it leads."
