The descent into the First Chamber is slow.
The ancient stone stairs, carved by the Moon Goddess’s hands millennia ago, are worn smooth by the passage of time. They wind deep beneath the bedrock of the Blackthorn territory, far below the reach of the sun, the wind, and the cosmic horrors that once threatened to unmake the world.
Kade walks beside me. His right hand is wrapped securely around my left, his thumb tracing slow, grounding circles against my knuckles. His left arm, pale and atrophied, rests carefully against his side. He moves with a stiff, deliberate grace, his jaw clenched slightly against the phantom pain that still flares in his missing nerves.
I do not offer him magical healing. I do not try to ease his burden with the Anchor’s power. I just walk with him. I match his pa
