Where were we?

The words scraped out of my throat weakly as my eyes fluttered open.

The world swam, darkness bleeding into shape slowly, reluctantly, like it resented being forced into clarity. Stone loomed overhead—jagged, ancient, slick with moisture that caught faint, wavering light. A cave.

Not a small one.

This place was vast, cathedral-wide, its ceiling stretching so high it disappeared into shadow. The mountain itself felt like it had swallowed us whole.

Cold air pressed against my skin, heavy with the scent of earth and minerals, threaded with something sharper beneath it. Old smoke. Older magic.

My body felt wrong. Heavy. Empty. As if something vital had been...