Our journey through the gorge was going suspiciously smoothly as we followed the small light orb that was Fiona’s tracking spell. My stomach felt heavy as we advanced another mile, with just a few animal sightings here and there.

Harper was at the back, talking to Vincent and Cadmus, while Jax and Hansa led the way forward. I was right behind them, with Heron riding close to me. We’d barely spoken since we’d left the city—mostly because we were both strained, paying close attention to our surroundings, and anticipating a daemon attack.

“Knowing Fiona, she’s probably kicking some daemon ass as we speak,” Heron muttered, giving me a half-smile and a sideways glance meant to give me comfort. He’d seen me over the past couple hours; he’d sensed my anguish, and he was trying to make me feel better.

I couldn’t stop myself from softening under his jade gaze. Our indigo horses trotted through the dark gorge, the three large moons glancing at us from the narrow strip of black sky above.

“Knowing Fiona, she’s probably pulling daemons inside out like shirts hung out to dry,” I replied with a smirk.

“Knowing Fiona, she’s most likely having daemons for a very early breakfast.” Heron kept going, pressing his lips together to stifle a grin.

“Knowing Fiona, I think we’ll have to change the daemons’ species name to ‘rented mules’,” I chuckled, feeling my spirits brighten. Jax had been right, earlier. We needed a soaring morale to get our uber-strong vampire girl out of this place, and Heron had the right formula.

“Knowing Fiona, she’s probably doing a little bit of spring cleaning now, mopping the floor with those horned bastards,” Heron continued.

“Knowing Fiona, and based on what I’ve seen on that dead daemon’s head, I bet she’s giving her captors some pretty nifty three-dollar haircuts.” I giggled. His indigo horse huffed and moved closer, enough for Heron’s knee to brush against mine.

“Knowing Fiona, she’s probably smacking the taste of souls out of their mouths for good.”

That last one made us both roar with laughter, but we were immediately shushed by Hansa and Jax, while Scarlett, Patrik, Caia, Blaze, Harper, and even the Exiled Maras swallowed their chuckles.

“Keep it down! We’re still in hostile territory,” Hansa berated us with a hiss.

“Yeah, and so are the daemons around Fiona right now,” Heron muttered, unable to help himself. I covered my mouth to stop myself from chortling, while Hansa gave him a reluctant grin and shifted her focus back to the road ahead. Even Jax noticed her expression, the corner of his mouth twitching in response.

We needed that laugh. It was a tiny slice of therapy in the middle of a madness that got more complicated and more dangerous with each hour that went by. Heron reached out, covering my hand with his. He gave me a gentle squeeze, his gaze softening as our eyes met. He energized me in ways I’d never thought possible, and that made everything about our friendship even more confusing, but in that specific moment, I welcomed it all. I needed it. I knew I’d worry about it later, since Heron hadn’t changed. I’d still get my heart broken if I allowed myself to get too close.

“We’re going to get her back, Avril,” he said quietly, and I nodded. “And once this whole mess is over and we get back to Calliope, you and I are going to have a good, long talk.”

His jade eyes took on a darker shade, his pupils dilating as he noticed my lips slowly parting—something that happened instinctively whenever he came too close.

“A talk? About what?” I managed, following up with a dry swallow.

He blinked several times, then pulled himself back and frowned, as if he’d said too much.

“Um, stuff. Don’t worry about it. It’s… Let’s just get out of here first.” He gave me a nervous smile, before his head suddenly turned in the opposite direction. “Did you hear that?”

We all went silent and listened for a few seconds.

The water flowing by our side, murmuring over the rounded pebbles. The wind blowing through the trees, their leaves whispering throughout the gorge. A few small animals squeaking behind jagged slabs of limestone.

And a peculiar rumble that got louder and closer, expanding into a stomach-churning echo that prompted us to look up and witness the top sides of the gorge explode.

One loud bang was followed by three more, and the stone walls started collapsing. Massive rocks tumbled toward us.

Our horses jerked into action and darted forward. I heard shouting and muffled yelps behind us as the gorge broke down. Once the thunderous crashing noises stopped, we brought our horses to a halt and turned to look at what we’d escaped.

The way back was completely sealed. A thick, irregular wall of broken chunks of limestone made it impossible for us to return that way.

Gray dust billowed out in heavy rolls, and the crash’s echoes reverberated through nearby crevices. It quickly spread out above, obscuring the sky before it dissipated.

“What the hell was that?” I croaked, taking in a lungful of air. I’d been holding my breath from the moment the stones had hurtled down toward us.

“I don’t know! The gorge simply… collapsed,” Hansa gasped, nudging her horse with her heels. She got closer to the new wall, looking up and taking it all in, as Jax moved to her side.

It dawned on us then that our GASP team had been completely separated from Vincent and the Correction Officers.

“Crap. What about Vincent and the others?” I gasped.

“Vincent!” Hansa shouted. “Cadmus!”

A second passed before their voices, albeit low and muffled, could be heard from the other side. We all brought our horses next to Hansa and Jax, while Harper used her True Sight to look beyond the wall. The voices got clearer. I managed to identify Cadmus and Vincent—they were both alive.

“Vincent and Cadmus are okay,” Harper said. “Some of the Correction Officers are wounded, but I think they’ll recover.”

“Vincent, Cadmus! Can you hear us?” Hansa called out.

“We can hear you,” we heard Cadmus growl from the other side. “Keep moving forward—we’ll go back and take one of the side paths into the next gorge, then find our way back to you farther ahead, okay?”

“Do you know where you’re going?” Hansa replied.

“More or less, yes. We have a map, and we’ll figure a way back to you. Keep moving, though! Don’t be sitting targets for the daemons!”

“Did you see what happened up there?” Jax asked.

“No… No, we only heard the rumbling, then the whole thing came down!” Vincent answered.

“Yeah, they’ll definitely be okay,” Harper concluded as she continued looking through the wall. “They’re getting back on their horses now.”

“Don’t fall back. Meet us farther up ahead!” Jax shouted.

“Relax, Dorchadas! We’ll be right next door, so to speak!” Vincent shot back. Jax rose an eyebrow. He looked as though he were holding back a fine choice of curse words for the noble Mara.

“Look at him. Less than an hour out in the field and he’s a freakin’ warrior.” Heron scoffed.