Chapter 16 · The Vault Beneath the Packhouse

Kade wasn't looking at me anymore.

His eyes were open, amber and wild, but he was staring through me like I was glass. His lips moved. No sound came out. Then his hand shot up and grabbed at empty air, fingers closing around nothing.

"Kade." I shook his shoulder. His skin was hot, too hot, the kind of fever that should've knocked him flat. "Kade, look at me."

He didn't blink.

"She's here," he whispered. His voice cracked. "Mom. She's—Lyra, she's right here."

Ice crawled down my spine.

I couldn't see anything. Just him and me and the torn-up ground where he'd shifted five minutes ago. The trees were still. The night air didn't move.

"What is she saying?" I kept my voice steady. My healer training kicked in. Don't panic. Don't pull him out too fast. Let him talk.

Kade's breathing hitched. "She says I have to go down. Beneath the packhouse. There's a door."

"A door?"

"She won't say more." His hand dropped. He blinked hard, and suddenly he was looking at me again, really looking. His pupils were blown wide. "Lyra.