Chapter Twenty-Two: The Weight of Shadows

The tunnel was older than the city above it.

The stone walls were slick with condensation, rough-hewn and uneven, carved long before any of them had been born. The air was thick—stagnant with time, filled with the scent of earth and damp rot. Small bioluminescent fungi clung to the walls, casting a faint glow along the winding path.

Tara kept close to the center of the group.

She didn't trust the darkness at their backs.

No one spoke for a long time.

They had run for what felt like forever after the temple burned. By the time Seamus had led them to the entrance of this underground passage, their bodies were raw with exhaustion, their minds stretched thin with everything they had just witnessed.

Everything she had just done.

Tara tried not to think about the blood on her hands.

She had burned them away with fire, but she could still feel it.

Landon walked just ahead of her, his presence steady, a quiet force that kept her tethered.

Skye was behind her, his dark presence lurking close, his footsteps nearly silent.

Collin had made sure to put himself as far from her as possible.

She didn't blame him.

⸻

Seamus finally broke the silence.

"We should reach the exit in two days. Give or take."

Two days in this tunnel.

Tara clenched her jaw.

Ballad sighed. "I hope you know where we're actually going."

"I always do," Seamus replied smoothly.

Collin scoffed. "Right. Because trusting the weird old man who magically knows everything about Tara has gone so well for us."

Seamus smirked. "You wound me, boy."

Collin ignored him, adjusting the strap of his bag. His blue eyes flickered toward Tara, but he quickly looked away.

The tension thickened.

Lottie stretched her arms above her head. "Might as well talk about the thing we're all thinking about."

Silence.

Then—

"She's dangerous," Collin muttered.

Tara felt her stomach knot.

Talulah's voice was cold. "She saved us."

"She almost burned us alive," Collin shot back. "And in case you missed it, she's carrying Balor's power. Or did that part slip your mind?"

Tara exhaled slowly through her nose.

She wasn't going to fight them.

She had nothing to say that would change what they had already seen.

She wasn't sure she even trusted herself anymore.

Ballad rubbed the back of her neck. "She's also the reason we're still breathing."

Collin crossed his arms. "For now."

Landon tensed. "She's not a threat to us."

Collin let out a short laugh. "You sure about that?"

Landon's green eyes burned. "Yes."

Collin didn't look convinced.

Tara swallowed hard. "If I was going to hurt any of you, I would've done it already."

Collin turned to her fully this time, his expression unreadable. "Or you're just waiting for the right moment."

Tara held his gaze.

She didn't flinch.

She didn't break.

Collin was the first to look away.

"Whatever," he muttered.

Tara sighed, forcing herself to loosen her fists.

Talulah's voice was quieter this time. "What about Zeke?"

A new silence settled between them.

The kind that weighed heavy.

Talulah's face was unreadable, her white-lavender hair gleaming under the soft glow of the cavern walls.

She hadn't said much about Zeke since the attack.

Hadn't asked where he was.

Hadn't cried.

Hadn't done anything.

Ballad sighed. "We don't know if he actually gave us up."

Collin snorted. "Oh, come on. They found us, didn't they?"

Tara's stomach twisted.

She had been thinking the same thing.

Talulah's voice was eerily calm. "If Zeke talked, it was only because they forced him."

Collin rolled his eyes. "That's the same thing as talking, Tal."

Talulah's fingers twitched.

Landon exhaled sharply. "Enough."

No one spoke after that.

⸻

They walked for hours.

Tara wasn't sure how much time had passed before she realized Collin was walking next to her.

Not in an aggressive way.

Not in a waiting-for-you-to-mess-up way.

Just... walking.

She glanced at him.

He ignored her.

Tara hesitated. Then, softly—

"You don't have to trust me."

Collin didn't respond.

A minute passed.

Then—

"I don't."

She let out a short breath, almost laughing. "Fair."

Collin rubbed at his temple, sighing. "You're not making this easy, you know."

She raised a brow. "What?"

He shot her a flat look. "You're supposed to be evil, Tara. The whole demon-possessed harbinger of death thing?"

She stared at him.

Collin finally cracked a smirk. "But you're not. You're just an asshole like the rest of us."

Tara huffed a laugh.

And just like that, the tension between them loosened.

⸻

Hours later, when they finally set up camp for the night, Tara couldn't sleep.

She was still wired, restless, burning inside.

Tara sat up, giving up on sleep for tonight.

She turned her head.

Skye was watching her.

The glow of the cavern flickered across his sharp features, casting shadows in the hollows of his cheekbones.

He didn't speak.

Didn't move.

Just watched.

And Tara felt that heat again.

It wasn't just attraction.

It was something primal. Ancient. Unshakable.

Like she was standing on the edge of something dangerous.

She licked her lips.

Skye smirked. "You're thinking too hard."

Tara exhaled sharply. "You don't know what I'm thinking."

His eyes darkened. "Yes, I do."

The air between them thickened.

Something was pulling her toward him.

Skye leaned forward slightly, his black-glimmering eyes locked on hers.

"Come here," he murmured.

Tara's breath hitched.

For a split second, she almost did.

Then—she snapped out of it.

She turned away quickly, her pulse hammering.

"Goodnight, Skye."

She could still feel him smirking as she got up and walked away.

She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved.

⸻

She slipped away from camp, walking deeper into the tunnel, where the cavern walls glowed softly with an eerie blue light.

In that moment, Tara made her choice.

Landon was there.

Sitting alone.

Waiting. Maybe for her, but also maybe not.

Her heart pounded.

She walked to him, her hands shaking slightly.

Landon looked up, his green eyes looking like glimmering pools of seawater in the dim glow of the cavern. They were filled with something she couldn't place.

He didn't ask why she was here. Didn't question it.

Tara swallowed and sat down next to him.

His voice cracked, "You know, I-"

Then—she kissed him.

And Landon kissed her back.

It was slow at first. Gentle. Soft.

But then he pulled her closer, his fingers pressing into her skin, and something shifted.

The heat between them burned.

Tara let it.

She wanted to feel something real.

Something like a human.

And in that moment—Landon was exactly that.