Chapter 58: Voice of Ember
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Fenna blinked, then nodded, a soft flush on her cheeks. She thinks, "My Zep is becoming romantic."
Star groaned like an old man.
"Yeah, yeah," Zephyr muttered. "You’re coming too."
They stood at the cave entrance, watching the slow curl of sulfurous mist trail out from the shadows. No turning back now. Together, they stepped into the volcano’s mouth.
The tunnel grew hotter with every step.
Zephyr wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as they descended deeper into the volcano, the walls glowing faintly with threads of molten red, as if veins of lava pulsed beneath the stone skin. The air was thick... thicker than any forest humidity they had faced. And it clung to their clothes like a second layer of steam-drenched armor.
Star padded ahead cautiously, sniffing the air. His black eyes were alert, wings slightly fanned for balance. He occasionally paused, tilting his head, nostrils twitching.
"We’re close," Zephyr murmured.
Fenna didn’t reply. Her eyes were distant, but her steps were determined, like something invisible pulled her forward. A voice. A feeling. A weightless tug in her chest that she couldn’t explain but refused to ignore.
Fenna paused at the new mouth of the tunnel, her boot hovering above jagged obsidian stone. Her brows were drawn tight, a tension not of fear, but of something harder to name. Behind her, Zephyr adjusted the strap of his pack and watched her, saying nothing.