Chapter 60

The Preator did not arrive like the process or the quiet.

It arrived like appetite that had outgrown the need for a mouth.

The outer lattice of the root system dimmed first—not in patches, but in a single, spreading extinction of red-gold light, as though something immense was moving in front of the source. The continuous climate between the third place and the living mansion contracted on instinct, filaments pulling tight around the primary anchors. The ninth syllable pulsed in hard, defensive beats that Zelda felt in her throat and Kael felt in the open brands on his chest. Specific want, which had been load-bearing structure only moments...