They ran for a while in silence before Serena stopped suddenly.
The jungle shook and a rumbling noise sounded in the distance.
Her eyes flared pink and her head snapped towards a rocky outcrop half-buried under vines.
Before anyone could ask, Serena blurred forward toward a slit in the stone, too small, too dark, too suspicious.
"Serena, wait, don't—"
Too late.
She ducked and slid straight into the narrow opening like gravity was a suggestion.
"Serena!" Dexmon roared as he dove after her, his thermal weave armor scraping stone. The chute was steeper than it looked, more like a granite throat, and he skidded down with zero control over his speed.
Gavriel, Maelor, Aeron, and Hyran sprinted after but were forced to stop at the entrance; the shaft was too tight, too angled, too risky for all of them at once.
Dexmon dropped the final few feet. Hard. Hard enough that it made even him wince.
