The heartbeat was louder here. It wasn't a sound so much as a pressure. It pushed against Ezra's eardrums, synchronized with the pulse of blue light that radiated from the ice walls. The cavern was vast, a cathedral carved by glaciers and forgotten by time. The ceiling was lost in shadow, but the floor was smooth, polished by millennia of meltwater refreezing. It felt like standing inside a geode.
Ezra sat with his back against a pillar of ice. The cold didn't bite here. It embraced. It seeped through his coat, not to freeze him, but to slow him down. His heart rate was dropping. He could feel it. The Core was regulating them. Keeping them alive in a place where humans shouldn't survive.
Mara was beside Ash. She had built a nest of blankets and spare clothing around him. Ash lay still. H
