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Silence dropped over the volcanic pocket like an anvil.

The silence stretched for three long heartbeats, broken only by the crackle of smoldering ash and the sound of my ragged breathing.

Fuck.

Too close, that was too close.

Breath Tauriel—just fucking breathe.

My arms trembled violently as the adrenaline receded, the wispy black shadow snapping back beneath my skin. I lowered my daggers, sheathing them with a sharp click, and let out a long breath.

Behind me, a heavy thud echoed against the basalt wall.

I turned around to find Dax slumped flat on his back in the volcanic dirt. His single dagger had fallen from his fingers, and his green eyes were wide, bloodshot, and staring at me as if I had just grown wings.

“What...” Dax wheezed, his throat raspy, his chest heaving as he stared at me in absolute shock. “What in the nine hells was that, Tauriel? Why did an bronze flyer just back off from you?”

I stumbled over to him, collapsing onto my knees in the ash at his side, wincing as my bruised ribs protested the movement. I reached out, gently inspecting his dislocated left shoulder and the deep cut on his forehead.

“It didn’t like the look of my daggers,” I muttered dryly, forcing my voice into a calm wire despite the tremor in my hands.

Dax let out a weak, breathless laugh that turned into a sharp cough. “Bullshit. I saw the air turn black around your shoulders. You... you did something back there.”

Fuck.

Did my Remnikai come out and I didn’t even realize?

Did he see the shadows?

“I survived,” I corrected softly, grabbing his right wrist and placing my hand against his bad shoulder. “Hold still. This is going to hurt.”

Before he could argue, I gave a sharp, violent wrench.

SNAP.

Dax let out a strangled curse as his shoulder joint popped back into its socket. He leaned his head back against the cold basalt, sweating profusely, but the strain in his face eased as the bone settled.

“You’re insane,” Dax rasped, wiping the blood from his eyes with his good hand. He looked at me, the reckless smirk finally returning to his pale lips, though his eyes were shining with a deep, fierce affection. “You came back for me. You jumped into a dragon’s mouth for me. Rhea is never going to believe it—hell, I barely believe it.”

“If you die, who’s going to make fun of Aerynn’s courtly commentary with me?” I asked, a faint, tired smile touching my cracked lips.

Dax laughed again, reaching out with his functional hand to grip my forearm tightly, his fingers digging into my gear. “I owe you my life, Tauriel. I mean it. If we make it off this rock, my blade is yours.”

“Just stay alive,” I said, my expression turning serious as I looked around the empty volcanic pocket.

The warmth in my chest vanished, replaced by a cold knot of dread that had been tightening ever since the dragon fire split our squad at the river. I looked at Dax, my voice dropping to a low thread.

“Dax... where is Caspian?”

Dax’s smirk vanished instantly. His eyes darkened, his grip on my forearm tightening as a heavy shadow fell over his features.

“I don’t know, Taur,” Dax whispered, his voice raspy and laced with deep guilt.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I demanded, my pulse hammering against my throat. “You were with him when the wall collapsed!”

“We were fighting off a wave of low-tier flyers near the riverbank,” Dax explained, his gaze dropping to the black sand between us. “The fire swept down the ridge, and the rock face buckled. A massive red flyer dropped straight into the gap between us. It blew the trail to splinters. I had to scramble west into the thickets to draw its flame away from the flank.”

He looked back up at me, his eyes hollowed out by dread. “The last thing I saw before the smoke took the canyon was Caspian fighting his way into the lower lava tubes. The entire cliff collapsed over the tunnel entrance right behind him, Tauriel. Tons of solid basalt.”