GRACE POV
The deeper we went into the mountain, the more the air changed. It wasn’t just colder. It felt thicker, heavier, almost alive, like the entire place was holding its breath and waiting for us to reach whatever we were being guided toward. The worm carried us through narrowing tunnels and sudden dips that made my stomach pitch, and I did everything in my power not to focus on the fact that I was sitting on the back of a creature with a texture that could only be described as wet nightmare.
If I let myself think about the slime for more than half a second, I knew exactly what would happen. Vomit. Violent, projectile, embarrassing vomit. So I kept my eyes ahead of us, on the narrow dark corridor, letting Hakira’s steady presence press against the forefront of my mind.
She wasn’t
