“This won’t hold it for long!” Alina shouted, glancing over her shoulder.
Joran didn’t respond, his focus entirely on navigating the twisting path ahead.
Elias stumbled as the ground shifted beneath him, catching himself just in time to avoid falling. He could feel the harp vibrating against his back, its presence growing more insistent.
“We need a plan!” he called out, his voice strained.
Joran finally skidded to a stop at the fork in the ravine, his eyes darting between the two paths. “Left leads to higher ground. Right goes deeper, but it’s a dead end.”
Alina cursed under her breath. “Higher ground means we’re exposed. It’ll crush us up there.”
“And the dead end means we’ll have no escape,” Joran shot back. “We don’t have time to debate!”
Elias glanced back, the sentinel surging toward them like a tidal wave of sand and shadow. Its glowing, hollow eyes were fixed on him—or rather, on the harp.
“We go left!” Elias said, taking off before either of them could argue.