And her daughter moved sharply beneath her heart in response.
The silver-gold threads flared brighter.
Every troll in the chamber froze instantly.
“Kara,” Nick said carefully.
She couldn’t look away.
Something inside the foundations had noticed her.No.Not her.Her baby.
The realization hit hard enough to steal her breath.The light shifted again.
And for one terrible second, Kara saw shapes moving deep within the glowing fractures beneath the chamber floor.Hands.Faces.Shadows pressing against broken seams in reality itself.
The abyss groaned.The entire chamber shook violently.
Troll warriors shouted as cracks splintered suddenly across the outer stone ledges.Dust thundered from the unseen ceiling overhead.
Nick grabbed Kara immediately, pulling her hard against his chest as another tremor rolled through the foundations beneath them.
The silver-gold light flickered violently.Then dimmed.The black fractures spread wider.And something moved inside them.
Not fully visible.Too large.Too wrong.
A pressure wave slammed through the chamber hard enough to drive several trolls backward.
Kara gasped as pain lanced suddenly through her stomach.Sharp.Deep.Her daughter reacted instantly beneath her ribs, movement rippling violently through her body.
The foundations answered.Light exploded outward across the chamber.
Nick did, too, one arm bracing her as his face dropped in agony.
The silver-gold threads surged brighter than before, slamming against the black fractures with enough force to make the mountain scream.
Every lantern shattered.
Darkness crashed over the chamber.
For one heartbeat, the only remaining light came from the foundations.
And from Kara.
Soft silver light pulsed faintly beneath the skin of her stomach where Nick’s hand covered it protectively.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then Verna’s voice broke softly through the darkness.
“Remember what I said, she’s ready,” the elder whispered.
But what did thatreallymean?“I don’t understand,” Kara said, her voice cracking.“It sounds all philosophical and beautiful when you’re not in a damn cave miles below the surface with it about to collapse in on you!What does it mean?”
Verna looked toward the widening fractures spreading through the foundations below them.“You don’t have to understand.You just have to trust.”
CHAPTER18
