The Sanctum’s Silent Watchers

Rhea looked around warily, her blade still raised. But when no second guardian appeared, she lowered the weapon, relief tinged with residual wariness in her eyes. Lira brushed a coating of dust off her sleeve, never losing that poised air about her. "We should expect worse the deeper we go," she said, her voice even, but Mikhailis didn't miss the hint of tension at the corners of her mouth.

"She's right," he murmured, taking a moment to steady his breathing. The illusions, the guardian, the constant sense of invisible eyes watching them—he wondered how much farther they could push their luck before something lethal found them unprepared.