Chapter 226

RIDING OUT IN FRONT WITHOUT Rumal only added to Kassie's anxiety. At least now, with so much practice on the ships, riding Oomoth felt easier; leaning with the centaur when he climbed up and down, picking his way over the rough path. She would have liked to have chatted with the girls, but Loi communed with the earth, lost in her own world, and Sian and Cat weren't in chatting moods. It left her stuck in her own mind, dwelling on everything. Trying to shake it off, Kassie studied the colours of the rock, the blues and whites lending a fairy tale feel to the tunnels. If only it made it warmer, she thought with a shiver. The cold leached into her bones and usually she had Rumal and Kerak near to keep her warm. It made it easier to deal with every day underground if she at least kept warm.

'Miss you guys,' she thought to Kerak.

'Miss you too, Kass. We'll see you soon, we're almost out.'

We are? Kassie sat straighter then leaned, trying to see ahead.