“Everyone be quiet for a moment,” Mael orders, holding out his hands. I attempt to control the loud breaths sawing out of my chest as we all strain to hear anything over the thick silence. A high-pitched scream ricochets in the distance, turning the blood in my veins to ice.

“Willow!” Tristan shouts as he, too, spins around and around. “Which direction did it come from?”

“I can’t tell,” Amya says, half sobbing.

“We’ll split up,” Nadir says. “Mael and Tristan, you take that one. Amya, you and Linden go that way. Anemone and Cyan, you take that one. And Cedar and Bronte, that one. Lor and I will take this path.”

“We meet back here in half an hour,” Nadir says. “If you find her, bring her here immediately and wait for the rest of us.”

We share a look around the circle before everyone nods and then turns towards their respective tunnels. My brother and I look at one another.

“Tris,” I say before he grabs my shoulders.

“We will find her, Lor. I swear it. We didn’t come this far to lose her now.”

I nod as more tears fill my eyes.

Then everyone breaks off as Nadir takes my hand, and we plunge into the darkness of our tunnel with the ice hounds trailing behind us. The walls feel like they’re closing in on me, and I inhale panicked breaths. If anything happens to her, I will destroy this entire mountain and everyone who’s responsible for laying a single hand on her.

Using Aurora magic, we light our path through the twisting tunnel until we emerge at another cavern that splits into two directions.

“Which one?” I ask. We both pause. The silence is crushing, weighing us down like a blanket made of iron. My ears pop from the absence of sound, and I work my jaw at the uncomfortable sensation.

“I don’t want to split up,” I say, squeezing his hand tighter.

“We aren’t,” he says.

“Let’s try the left one first before we double back.”

Angling towards the opening, we enter yet another dark tunnel as it winds us further into the mountain. My breath starts to tighten as it grows narrower. I wish Bronte were here with her magic, but I can’t lose control of myself. Willow needs me.

But as we continue walking, I’m starting to get worried we might become lost down here forever.

“Maybe we should try the other one,” Nadir finally says. The sound of his voice is so loud that it makes me jump.

“Maybe,” I say, peering into the darkness. I wish there was something to indicate if we’re on the right track. And then I hear it—a scream, echoing so softly far, far in the distance.

“Did you hear that?” I ask, but I’m already running.

“Willow,” I gasp. “Willow!”