The ridge's edge gave way to a longer descent, each step sliding on loose shale. Silence gripped the group, broken only by the scrape of boots and the brittle clatter of stones tumbling into unseen depths. The air was dense with the scent of scorched earth from the battle above, the metallic tang of spent mana still clinging to their tongues.
Halfway down, Lira broke the quiet with a wry grin. "You realize you just told a man who could end you to shove his leash?"
Reid's jaw tightened but he didn't answer. Kaela's voice cut in, low and firm. "Better that than let him hold it."
Mara's eyes stayed fixed ahead. "Leashes have two ends. I'd rather be the one pulling."
A brittle shelf of rock gave way under Lira's foot, the shale breaking in a sharp crack. She pitched forward, but Reid's hand shot out, gripping the strap of her pack and hauling her upright. The stone she'd dislodged skittered away, knocking others loose until the sound became a brief cascade vanishing into the abyss below.
"Thanks," she muttered, brushing grit from her leg. "Not in the mood for an unplanned flight."
"Then keep your feet," Reid said, the sharpness in his tone softened by the brief flicker of concern in his gaze.
Kaela's glance lingered on him for a moment before she turned away, resuming her measured pace.
They reached a flatter shelf where faint heat rose through the stone, the buried mana seam pulsing below, as if alive. The Bond stirred, pressing an image into Reid's mind: narrow black corridors lit by rivers of molten fire, shadows gliding along the walls like silent sentinels. The vision dissolved before he could grasp its meaning.
The ridge path spilled into a clearing littered with relics of an ancient battle. Rusted blades jutted from the soil, scorched fire circles lay buried in moss, and a collapsed bannerpole sagged under rot. Kaela motioned for them to skirt the center.
"This ground remembers more blood than we want to wake," she said.
Mara's voice dropped lower. "And some memories bite."
Fresh tracks cut through the battlefield's decay, crisp and deliberate. Whoever had set the ridge traps was circling wider now, shadowing their path.
Kaela's jaw tightened. "They're not finished with us."
"Good," Lira murmured, testing her blade's balance. "I'm not finished with them."
The trail beyond narrowed between two granite pillars, weathered but still imposing. Kaela halted, eyes tracing every ledge and shadow. "This is where we decide, hold the ground, or walk into theirs."
Reid felt the seam's heat pressing against his skin, stronger now, and the Bond's voice curled like smoke through his mind. Stone remembers its claimant.
He met Kaela's gaze. "Then we take it before they do."
They moved as one into the stone corridor, the air cooling sharply in the shade of the towering pillars. Sound dulled here, every footfall swallowed by the sheer rock. Lira's eyes scanned the high ridges, catching the brief glint of metal far above.
"Archers," she whispered.
Kaela's hand flicked a signal, and the group scattered for cover along the jagged walls. A shaft hissed down, splintering against Reid's shoulder guard. He ducked, pivoted, and spotted the narrow switchback that could lead them up.
"Up there!"
Mara was already moving, nimble on the loose scree. Reid followed, his breath syncing with the pounding rhythm of his boots. The Bond's presence swelled, urging violence, promising dominance. He ignored the lure and focused on the climb.
At the crest, they found the first archer, a lean figure in battered leather, eyes widening before Lira's blade silenced him. Below, Kaela's bowstring thrummed, dropping another. The defenders fell back, vanishing into the maze of ridges.
Pursuit was a calculated risk. Kaela's eyes scanned the fractured horizon before she gave a terse nod. "We push. Don't let them regroup."
The ridgeline split into narrow spines, some no wider than a stride, forcing the group to weave single-file. The wind carried the faint clink of gear and a whispered signal, proof their quarry was close. Reid's pulse quickened, his senses sharpening until every pebble shift felt like a drumbeat.
They closed the gap at a choke point where two stone faces leaned together, forming a jagged arch. One of the hunters wheeled to face them, spear leveled, eyes burning with something beyond fear, zeal. The clash was brief but vicious, steel on steel ringing through the pass. Mara swept the man's legs while Reid drove his pommel into the side of his helm, ending the fight with brutal efficiency.
Lira retrieved a small, rune-marked token from the fallen, holding it up for Kaela. "This isn't just a scouting band."
Kaela's mouth hardened. "No. It's a summons."
The path dipped into a hollow where the seam's heat pulsed stronger, radiating through the stone. The Bond coiled tight inside Reid's chest, its whisper brushing his thoughts: Claim the heart, and the ridge bends to you.
He knelt, pressing a hand to the warm rock. Beneath, the seam thrummed like a restrained heartbeat, eager yet contained. He looked to Kaela, Mara, and Lira, the unspoken decision settling between them.
"We take it tonight," Kaela said. "Before they return in force."
Far above, a horn sounded once, then again, long and low. The hunters were warning someone, or calling reinforcements.
Reid stood, jaw set. "Then we'd better be ready when they arrive."