Chapter 19

"I got it," Skye assured Micha, despite the fact that she'd been struggling to enter Lynx's mind since Azra had made his unexpected entrance into the cavern. The strange magic that pulsed around the fairy was not only a physical barrier but also a mental barrier. Thankfully, Azra had unintentionally offered her a small shred of hope. But only if she could keep Micha from giving in to his savage thirst for revenge. She crossed to stand directly in Lynx's path to the pedestal, risking a quick glance toward Micha. "Keep the vampire fro m interfering—"

"With pleasure," Micha promised.

"But keep him alive," she complet ed her request.

A growl rumbled on Micha's lips as he halted his advance toward the male, who appeared lost in his mental connection with the fairy.

Good. That should make things easier for her.

Micha wasn't nea rly so pleased.

"Why ?" he demanded.

"The magic of the crystal is causing interference," she confessed with a grimace. "I can't enter Lynx's thoughts while he's holding it, but I think I can use Azra's compulsion to slip in and take contro l of his mind."

He turned to study her with a strange expression. Did he sense the uncertainty bubbling inside her? Probably. She didn't doubt for a second that if Lynx managed to place the crystal on the pedestal, the dragons would awaken and release a hellfire that would destroy everything in its path. It was up to her to keep that from happening. But she'd never done anything like this. And certainly not when they were facing an end-of-the- world scenario.

Peri would know what to do. And so would Maya. But she didn't have their power. Or t heir courage...

Stop it . With a fierce effort, she pushed against he r insecurities.

Meeting Micha's steady gaze, she squared her shoulders.

"I'm ready," s he assured him.

"You got this, Skye," he murmured, his voice low and his gaze steady. "I b elieve in you."

Closing her eyes, Skye concentrated on her powers that were tightly knotted in the center of her heart. This wasn't the same as using an incantation. Or tapping into the spells that were stored in her charms.

This was her own special gift. The magic she'd been blessed with that had marked her as a seer when she wa s a young girl.

Concentrating on her carefully restricted powers, she peeled away the barriers she'd erected. It wasn't a perfect system. If she was tired or she'd stretched her magic too far, then the barricades would leak. Or if a vision was particularly strong, like when she touched Micha, the power w ould burst out.

Skye released the last of the barriers and there was a heady rush of pleasure as the magic crashed through her. She trembled, savoring the intoxicating sensation. Sometimes she forgot how glorious it felt to have the full force of her magic flowing th rough her body.

Then the reminder of why she was so careful to keep it locked away sl ammed into her.

First was the smell. Not the musty odor of the cavern or the rich, coppery scent that was embedded in the marble. Those were natural scents that she'd noticed from the moment they'd entered the vast space.

No, it was the stench of emotions that wrinkled her nose in regret.

Lynx's panicked desperation. Azra's bitterness layered with a hint of insanity. Micha's grim determination.

Even her own f ear of failure.

The next thing to hit her was the tension that pulsed through the cavern. The smothering force squeezed her in a painful vise that tightened with every beat of her heart. It felt like a hurricane about to unleash its fury in a torren tial explosion.

Shuddering as the various sensations washed over her, Skye focused her concentration on the fairy, who continued a slow, plodding path toward the cent er of the room.

He was still protected behind the crimson glow of the crystal, but she could sense the threads of compulsion that Azra had woven through the shield and directly into his mind. She could actually see the connection. It looked like an inky line power-drilling into the back of the fairy's head. Weird. Her own magic appeared in a shimmer of silver and gold, barely visible as she delicately coiled it around Azra's link. Her touch was delicate, as she sternly resisted the urge to smash through the barriers keeping her out. She didn't want either male to realize what she was doing as she crept along the black thread of compulsio n inch by inch.

After what felt like an eternity, she reached th e fairy's mind.

"Lynx," she whispered, forming the image of a net wrapping around the male's slender body to reinforce her co mmands. "Stop."

She breathed a sigh of relief as Lynx's steps faltered, his body stiffening as if he was battling against two separate impulses. And he was. The inky strand of vampire power writhed in frustration, trying to cut through her shimmering magic. Skye tightened her grip on Lynx's mind, coating the compulsion in layers of s himmering gold.

Like smo thering a fire.

Engrossed in cutting off the vampire's hold, Skye didn't consider the possibility that there might be more than one danger. Not until the glow from the crystal flooded Lynx's mind, severing Azra's connection and nearly wrenching awa y her own grip.

Blinded by the abrupt flash of crimson, Skye didn't see Lynx continue his path to the pedestal, but she sense d his movement.

"Lynx." She added another layer of magic. "Turn around."

"He can't hear you," a female voice abruptly drawled. "Ca n you, my pet?"

With a soft gasp, Skye whirled around to discover a tall, slender form standing in the center of the cavern. No, not standing, she realized as the image faded before reappearing. It was a vision, but not in her mind, it was filling Lynx's brain, and somehow Skye's connection to the fairy was allowing her to see what he was seeing.

She'd never heard of anything like it. Not even in the ancient manuscripts that had been written by various seers.

But then again, most seers had never encountered a dragon. And Skye didn't doubt for a second that was exactly what she was looking at. A real, fire-breathing dragon who could destroy her with a random burp.

She also didn't doubt that it was the same dragon she'd seen in the memory spell. The creature had replaced the fur cape with a floor-length black robe, and her hair was left loose to tumble down her back like a river of red fire, but her skin still shimmered with the same bronzed sheen and she had the same solar blasts of power that surrounded her in a hellish aura.

Skye's breath was squeezed from her lungs, and sweat trickled down her face. Catching a glimpse of one in a memory spell was considerably different than being up close and personal. It didn't matter that the creature was there in spirit rather than flesh. Or even that she was viewing the creatur e through Lynx.

Without warning, the black gaze settled on her with an unnerving intensity. "Who are you?" the female demanded, not bothering to hi de her disgust.

Wait. Could the vision see her? More importantly, could the beast belch fire at her? Raw fear pulsed through Skye and she desperately battled against her natural instincts. No. She had to stay strong, she sternly chided herself. Whatever her urge to flee in terror, she had to keep Lynx from reaching the pedestal. And the only way to do that was to regain her contr ol of his mind.

Which would be considerably easier if she could somehow keep the dragon focused on her instea d of the fairy.

An alarming but neces sary sacrifice.

"Zanna, I presume." The words came out more like a croak than a taunt, but her effort wasn't wasted.

The female hissed, sounding weirdly snakelike as she continued to glare at Skye. "Queen Zanna to you, human." The dark gaze narrowed. "Ah, no," she breathed. "Not a huma n. Magic user."

"Seer to you, dragon," she retorted, sending a ripple of magic through her connection to Lynx. The fairy hesitated, the silver in his aura flaring as he was caught between the two p owerful forces.

"Well what do you know. A female with a backbone." Zanna moved forward, appearing to float over the mosaic tiles. "Shall I rip it out?"

Skye stood her ground. Oddly, the closer the female approached, the less afraid she felt. Or maybe the stress of the past few days had finally caused her to snap and she didn't have the sense to be terrified. A much more like ly explanation.

Still, Skye was willing to indulge her reckless lack of caution. Right now it was exactly w hat she needed.

"Are you asking my opinion or telling me what you're going to do?" she asked in flippant tones.

"Who are you?" Zanna asked again, this time with something that might have been gen uine curiosity.

"Nobody. Just a mage who happens to have visions."

"Vi sions of what?"

"The world burning."

"Ah." Zanna released a slow breath, the scent of brimstone swirling through the air. "I have those visions as well. Aren't they glorious?"

"Not so much," S kye said dryly.

"Mmm." Zanna pursed her lips. "I suppose a mortal creature wouldn't be as excited at the thought of the world drowning in fire. For some of us it's going to be pure paradise."

Skye refused to be baited. Instead, she tightened her grip on Lynx's mind, forcing him back a step. Satisfaction flared through her, even as a voice in the back of her mind warned she needed a better plan. Eventually she would run out of magic. Or more likely, the dragon would get tired of playing with her. Then she would force Lynx to complete his mission and the dragons would be free to fulfi ll her visions.

"You signed a treaty," she reminded Zanna, wondering if she could shame the female into backing down. Unlikely, but hey...it wasn't like she had a plan B. "Do dragons have no honor?"

Sparks danced in the dark eyes as smoke curled from one flared nostril. " Careful, seer."

Skye used the female's spurt of anger to tighten her grip on Lynx's mind.

"You made a pledge and now you're trying to break it," she continued. She might not be able to shame the dragon, but her accusations clearly annoyed the beast. It was better than nothing. "Hardly the behavior of a noble species."

"Do you think such powerful beings could be controlled by a piece of paper? We are gods who have no need to concern ourselves with s uch pettiness."

"Piece of paper?" Skye arched her brows. "It was a treaty that you sealed wi th your blood."

Zanna dismissed her words with a restless shrug. "A meanin gless gesture."

"If it was meaningless, why agree to the treaty at all?"

The vision seemed to ripple in and out of focus, as if the question had caught the creature by surprise. A second later, the dragon had regained her composure to send Skye a haughty glare.

"Dragons traditionally seclude themselves in their lairs to rejuvenate their powers. It was close enough to our natural hibernation to pretend that I agreed with the stupid pledge."

"Lies," Skye breathed, shocked as she managed to peek into the dragon's mind.

The images were fragmented. And they flipped from one to another with a dizzying speed. But Skye was able to see herself sitting on a massive throne, surrounded by acres of marble and gilding and rich tapestries that glowed in the torchlight.

"Excuse me?" the dragon snapped.

"That's not the reason you agreed to the treaty," Skye said, able to determine that there were several forms standing in front of the throne, all of them large and surrounded by the same formidable auras as Zanna. Dragons. And they didn't look happy. "You were afraid of the vampires."

"I fear no leech!"

The ground abruptly shook, the marble cracking as if an immense force was pressing against it. Zanna's temper? Or was something stirring be neath her feet?

A thought that made Skye's stomach cle nch with dread.

"Perhaps not vampires, but you feared the weapon they created." She forced herself to focus on the images that continued to flicker through her mind. "You couldn't defend against it no matter how many times you promised to protect your people." Suddenly she wasn't in the throne room. Instead she was standing on top of a mountain, watching her mighty warriors tumble from the sky with shrieks of pain. From behind her the whoosh of heavy wings sent a blast of searing heat over her, and a sudden fear pierced her heart. Someone had landed on top of the cliff and the very fact they had chosen to approach from behind meant their arrival was an unspoken threat. "Worse, you refused to stop attacking," Skye continued. "It's no wonder the other dragons started to question if you were such a great queen."

"They adore me," Zanna snapped.

The images faded, as if Zanna was deliberately trying to shut her out, but Skye had one last clear vision. One that was more shocking than all the others.

"No. They banded together and stormed your lair," she said, shuddering at the image of raw, explosive power that had been blasted at the marble throne room. "They were the ones to insist on signing the treaty. You had no choice but to agree or be banned from the..." Skye paused, trying to come up with the proper word. "What is a group of dragons? A lounge? No, wait. That 's lizards. A—"

"Get out of my mind," Zanna snarled, the smoke from her nose curling around her he ad like a halo.

Firmly forced out of the dragon's memories, Skye returned her attention to her connection with Lynx. He was locked in place, caught between the two warring compulsions. Right now, that was the bes t she could do.

"I don't think so," she muttered, feeling sweat trickle down her spine. "Not when you're threatening to dest roy the world."

"Not destroy it," Zanna reprimanded her. "Remold it into what it should have been from the beginning."

"An d what's that?"

"A burning landscape that's no longer infeste d with vermin."

Skye's stomach clenched even tighter, making her feel nauseous. She didn't need to peek into Zanna's mind. She'd seen the vision of flames consu ming the world.

"I suppose vampires are the vermin?" she asked, more to keep the dragon talking than any interest in who she wanted to kill. Ever yone would die.

"Vampires. Demons. Humans. Mages," Zanna drawled, as if to reinforce Skye's deepest fears.

"You want a world with just dragons?"

Zanna shrugged. "We are the sup erior species."

"You're certainly the most arrogant of the species," Skye muttered.

"For good reason." A sneer twisted the female's exquisite features. "As you'll soon discover."

She was going to discover, Skye acknowledged, terror pulsing through her. There was no doubt that the hellscape she'd glimpsed in her vision was a bout to happen.

Unless she found some way to stop it.

But how?

"Do the others know?" she abr uptly demanded.

Zanna stiffened, as if Skye's desperate stab in the dark had hit a n erve. "Others?"

"The dragons," Skye clarified, even though there was no need. The unease smoldering in Zanna's dark eyes revealed she knew exactly what S kye was asking.

"I'm their queen." Zanna tilted her chin, her expression defiant. "I made the decision that's best for my people."

"To live in a world that has nothing to offer but a barren emptiness?" Skye shook her head. "Who wo uld want that?"

"Dragons adore fire. It's our na tural habitat."

Skye frowned. There wasn't a great deal of information about dragons available to mages. They'd been gone a long time, and even when they roamed the world, they were secretive. But she did know that they were the dominant species for thou sands of years.

"If that's true, then why didn't you torch the earth when you were awake? It wasn't like anyone c ould stop you."

Zanna's lips pinched. "We attempted to share our world. Now it's obvious that the only way to get rid of our enemies is to des troy them all."

"Ah." Skye sudde nly understood.

This wasn't about the dragons being forced into hibernation. Or the desire to be the lone survi ving creatures.

This was about Zanna and her rut hless ambition.

"Ah, what?" the dragon snapped.

Skye narrowed her gaze, pretending she could still read the female's mind. "We've already discussed the fact they have some questions about your ability to rule. And now you realize that when they climb out of hibernation there's a real possibility that they're going to make some hard decisions about who they want sitting on the throne." Skye shook her head. "Are you really so determined to cling to your position of power that you would condemn them to hell?"

"It will be too late," Zanna snapped, confirming Skye's suspicions. "They will have no choice but to approve my decision—" Belatedly realizing she was revealing more than she intended, Zanna balled her hands into fists and glared toward the trembling fairy. "Place the crystal on the pedestal. Now."

"No!"

Skye jerked her hand in Lynx's direction, muttering the words to a hasty spell. She didn't have a hope in hell of defeating a dragon, not even if she was at full power, but she was reacting on instinct, not logic. If she was thinking clearly, she'd have given up the moment she realized Zanna had lured Lynx to th is hidden lair.

Thankfully, the charms on her bracelet reacted to the threat in the air, and without conscious thought, a column of power blasted from her wrist and aimed straight toward the fairy. Of course, it was Peri's magic, so it didn't just knock Lynx to the ground. Or freez e him in place.

Instead, it wrapped around his hand like a glove and lifted him off his feet until he was dangling off the ground. Then the magic started to pulse, tightening on Lynx's fingers until the fairy sc reamed in pain.

Zanna hissed, her eyes widening as the glow from the crystal clutched in Lynx's hand started to dim.

"Stop it."

Skye cut her connection to Lynx's mind, distracted by the male's agony. She wasn't a mage who was cruel or enjoyed causing pain to others, but right now nothing mattered beyond keeping the crystal from the pedestal. Even if it meant sacrificing Lynx. O r even herself.

"I don't think so," Skye ground out, taking a step toward Lynx. Proximity didn't make the magic stronger, but she hadn't forgot ten about Azra.

The vampire must have felt his hold on Lynx being severed. It was possible he would try to physically force the fairy towar d the pedestal.

Zanna, on the other hand, appeared frozen. As if shock had turned her into a statue.

"You're destroying the crysta l," she hissed.

"Yes," Skye agreed, although she didn't have a clue what she was doing. Or rather what Peri's m agic was doing.

"No. That's not possible." Zanna stared at her with genuine fear. "Who are you?"

This time Skye had an answer. Over the past few days she'd survived a kidnapping, a crazed vampire, and now a dragon. Micha had been right.

"I'm Skye," she announced in proud tones. "S kye Claremont."

Flames abruptly danced over Zanna, coating her in a dazzling layer of fire. "Time for you to die, S kye Claremont."

Skye ignored the warning. Any other time, the cloak of flames might have been impressive, not to mention scary as hell, but she knew this was the pivotal moment that would determine if her vision was fulfilled or if she could change the fat e of the world.

Just another day at the office, she wryly acknowledged, shuddering as the wild magic continued to pour from the charm.

"Perhaps, but I'll destroy the crystal before you kill me," she said between clenched teeth.

"You fool," Zanna rasped, the fire disappearing. "It will trap us fo r an eternity."

"Good." Skye smiled. "A world without dragons doesn't bot her me at all."

"Stop...please." The word sounded as if it had been wrenched from the depths of her evil soul.

Skye continued to send out the magic. Her trust of the dragon hovered around a neg ative trillion.

"This rebellion is over, sleeping beauty," she informed Zanna. "Crawl back to your lair a nd stay there."

The dark eyes flared with fur y. "You bitch."

"Me? A bitch? Seriously? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." She rolled her eyes before she sent another pulse of magic to hammer against the crystal. "Leave or I swear I' ll destroy it."

A full minute ticked past. Then another. Skye's mouth was dry and her face coated in sweat. If this didn't work, then the y were screwed.

Then, with a grudging reluctance, the vision began to slowly fade. Really, really slowly. As if Zanna was still considering some last desperate attempt to force Lynx to haul the crystal to the waiting pedestal. Skye took another step forward, trying to look threatening. Not her greatest talent, especially when her clothes were tattered, her face covered in dust and blood, and her hair tangled so badly it was going to take a powerful potio n to unknot it.

Still, it was thankfully enough, as the vision of Zanna at last faded and a grinding pressure that Skye hadn't even realized was pressing against her body abr uptly vanished.

Skye swayed, realizing the pressure had been helping her to stay upright. Behind her there was a loud thump and she glanced over her shoulder to see Lynx lying in an unconscious heap, the crystal still clutched in his hands although it was no longer glowing. No surprise. His mind had been grabbed and jerked between competing forces like a fumbled football. There was a real possibility he would remain unconscious for the next cent ury. Or longer.

"Skye." Micha appeared at her side, wrapping his arms protectively around her. "Are you okay?"

It was a simple question, but a thousand answers sputtere d in her brain.

No, of course I'm not okay. I just battled a dragon and nearly died. Yes, I'm fine. I just faced a dragon and lived. Maybe I'll decide if I'm okay after I've had a long nap. Like in a year or so...

"I think so," she finally man aged to mutter.

Micha swept a worried gaze over her face, no doubt sensing she wasn't in a place to have a coheren t conversation.

"Is it over?" wa s all he asked.

"It's over, " she breathed.

A grim satisfaction spread over his beautiful face. "Are we d one with Azra?"

Her gaze strayed toward the vampire who was glaring at them with a hint of confusion. Obviously he didn't understand how or why he'd lost his control over Lynx, but he did realize that he no longer had the upper hand.

"Done," she assured Mich a in icy tones.

Micha released her and turned to face Azra, the nearby marble column popping and cracking as if it was being crushed by an unseen power. Micha? Skye desperately hoped so. She couldn't take another enemy making an unwelc ome appearance.

The older vampire took an instinctive step back. "Wait. This has all been a terrible mistake," he rasped, holding out his hands even as Skye could sense him mentally reaching toward the unconscious fairy. "I was obviously being compelled by powers beyond my control. None of this was my fault—"

"Micha, he's trying to wake up Lynx!" she called out, tapping into her magic to block the male from entering th e fairy's mind.

There was a brief flare of power before it sputtered and disappeared. Damn. She was all tapped out. Thankfully, Micha still retained his strength. Even better, his ability to manipulate the magic of the Gyre allowed him to create weapons out of nearby objects.

"No one forced you to betray your people," he hissed, lifting his arm and pointing a finger at Azra. "It was your own pathetic lust for power that nearly des troyed us all."

"No. I told you. It wasn't me. It was the dragon. She manipulated me until I couldn't think clearly." Azra pressed his hands together, as if pleading for mercy. His eyes, however, remained hard with ruthless determination. He wasn't conceding defeat, he was playing for time. "Listen, now isn't the time or place to make any hasty decisions. Take me to Sinjon. I'm sure he 'd understand."

"Yes, I'm sure he wi ll understand."

Micha sounded almost sad as he gestured with his hand, and without warning the air was filled with jagged shards of marble from the column he'd shattered moments ago. Skye hastily backed away, her eyes wide as the lethal projectiles whizzed direct ly toward Azra.

The male screeched in fury, lifting his arms to try to protect his face. It was a wasted effort. The marble sliced through flesh and bone with sickening ease, digging deep into his skull. Skye gagged at the sound of the shards sawing their way through Azra before they were zooming around to launch another attack.

Azra's screams were no longer anger. They echoed through the cavern with a pain that made th e ground shake.

"Stop! Please!"

Micha ignored the pleas, his face grim as he concentrated on the shards currently slicing Azra to bloody shreds. Skye gagged, turning her back to avoid the gruesome death.

It wasn't that she didn't think the vampire deserved his fate. He'd been willing to watch the world burn in a pathetic power grab. He'd gone beyond ambitious into the realms of demented. Which meant he had to be destroyed. Vampires were too powerful to survive if they were unstable. But she was exhausted, queasy, and unable to endure the sight of any more violence.

She would be brave again tomorrow.

An eternity passed—at least that was what it felt like to Skye—before the ghastly screams began to fade, and she released a shaky breath of relief. Was it over? Really and truly over?

She was almost afr aid to believe.

For good reason, she immediately conceded, watching as a shimmering black streak appeared near the pedestal. It was nearly three inches long and as thin as a strand of hair. Just for a second, she tried to convince herself it was a trick of the light that glowed from an unseen source in the ceiling. Or a residual effect from Zanna's magic. The dragon might not have physically been in the cavern, but her spirit form had been spewing a toxic brew of power. Skye could still smell the brimstone.

Or maybe it was a protective trigger connected to the pedestal. After all, she wouldn't have noticed the strand if she hadn't been staring in that direction for several minutes. Maybe it was always there, waiting to release a trap if someone came too close.

She was still busy trying to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about when the strand began to lengthen and then to twirl in a circle. Skye instinctively touched a finger to her charms, futilely hoping that there might be a spell left to toss at the latest threat.

There was nothing. She was al l magicked out.

A damned shame since the strand had stretched and grown into a large circle that continued to expand until it touched the marble floor just inches from where Lynx was lyi ng unconscious.

"Um...Micha," she breat hed in warning.

She'd never seen a portal, but she'd read an ancient manuscript that had described them. Back in the olden days, when magic flowed freely through the world, there were a few of the more powerful mages who could open a doorway from one place to another, even if it was hundreds of miles apart. She was pretty certain that was what she was looking at now.

There was a cool rush of power wrapping protectively around her as Micha moved to stand at her side, at the same moment the outline of a large male form became visible inside the darkness of the portal.

"I smell copper," the va mpire muttered.

Skye sucked in a deep breath. He was right. Whoever was coming had the same coppery scent as Lynx. But it wasn't demon. It was something she'd nev er encountered.

With the confident assurance of a creature who obviously wasn't scared to enter a strange room without knowing who or what might be waiting for him, the male stepped out of the portal. He was even bigger now that she could fully see him with long copper hair that was pulled into a braid to reveal a startlingly beautiful face. There was something almost fey about the emerald eyes and the angular cut of his features, but she instinctively sensed he was unique.

And old.

Mind -numbingly old.

Without warning, the male dipped his head in their direction. "Thank you for your service."

His voice rumbled like thunder, echoing throu gh the chamber.

"Who are you?" Skye breathed.

"You can call m e the Watcher."

"Watcher?" Skye shook her head in confusion. "Is that your name or—"

"You need to leave this place," the stranger interrupted, bending down to scoop Lynx into his arms. With an ease not even a vampire could have matched, he straightened, the unconscious fairy draped over h is arms. "Now."

Micha stepped forward. "Not until we have a few answers. And not without the crystal the fai ry is holding."

"The crystal is back where it belongs," the male promised.

The temperature dropped as Micha called on his powers. "That's for the Ca bal to decide."

"Vampires." The male rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with the authority of the Ca bal. "Go home."

Micha stiffened, prepared to attack, but with the same liquid ease that he'd entered the cavern, the creature stepped back and disappeared into the portal. A second later the opening snapped shut, as if a door ha d been slammed.

Skye blinked. "Well t hat was weird."

"He ha s the crystal."

He did, but Skye wasn't as upset as she should be. It could be that she was just too tired to work up concern for the stupid red stone. But a part of her accepted that the crystal was truly whe re it belonged.

A low rumble shook the cavern and for a moment Skye thought it was Micha's power being unleashed in a belated attempt to stop the stranger from disappearing. It wasn't until chunks of stone started to fall from the ceiling that she realized the entire cavern was shaking, as if it was abo ut to collapse.

"We really need to go," she rasped, stumbling to the side as the mosaic floor buckled be neath her feet.

Micha didn't hesitate. Grasping her hand, he raced toward a large crack in the wall that had exposed a hidden passageway. Was this how Azra had managed to sneak up on them? Probably, but right now Skye wasn't interested in anything but getting out before the mountain landed on top of them.

The threat of being buried beneath tons of granite tended to put her prior ities in order.