The clearing shook again, much harder this time. The impact rippled through the soil in harsh waves. My knees buckled and Jack caught my arm while Beau pulled me backward. The crack that had released the first guardian did not close. It widened, splitting the forest floor like a mouth that wanted more.
A roar of grinding stone echoed through the trees.
Something else was climbing through.
“Move back,” Beau said, though his voice stayed low, calm, deceptively steady. He pushed me gently behind him even as Jack took the other side, their bodies forming a shield around me without a single word exchanged.
The ground heaved upward. Roots tore through the soil, thicker than tree trunks. They twisted around metal plating, pulling something enormous toward the surface. The moonlight hit the ri
