Page 147 of The Last Remaining Light

The passage outside the chamber felt colder than it had before. Smoke hovered in thin layers along the ceiling, sliding between pipes and old resonance conduits that had dulled to a bluish-gray beneath the stone. The walls here were narrower than the polished corridors above, their surfaces rougher and older, marked by repairs layered over repairs. Elowynn found herself noticing the places where newer Veylspire had been built over the old city, where polished stone gave way to foundations and elegant conduits vanished into raw-carved rock.

She thought she had finally understood the construction and history of Veylspire.

How arrogant that seemed now.

The city above had shown her its observatories, its libraries, its lecture halls and gleaming bridges. It had offered her titles, challenges, rivalries, and the intoxicating pleasure of being known for the brilliance of her mind. But beneath all of that, another Veylspire had always existed.

A city of sealed shelters, abandoned transit passages, concealed routes, and old stone.

Agatha would have been disappointed to find out that Elowynn had not noticed it all sooner. Or, perhaps Agatha would have looked entirely unsurprised.

The thought of the elder Sister sent a sudden ache through Elowynn’s chest. She wondered whether Lumenshire could feel what was happening here. Whether the aethercurrents carried the wound of Veylspire all the way to the sea cliffs. Whether Agatha had paused somewhere in the abbey library, teacup in hand, and looked toward the north with that knowing expression she wore whenever something proved itself more foolish than she preferred.

Another scraping sound moved through the passage behind them, and Elowynn stiffened.

Caelyn did too, though his reaction came before hers. His head turned slightly, his attention drawn backward with unnerving precision. He no longer looked merely wounded. He looked like someone listening to a voice the rest of them couldn't hear.

Alyra noticed. “Are they following?” She seemed to understand that Caelyn was connected to whatever was happening.

Caelyn remained quiet for a few breaths before he answered.

“Yes.”

“Not the answer I wanted,” Lora said, swallowing hard.

Korvel’s pace increased. “Then we keep moving.”

The corridor sloped downward after another turn, leading them deeper beneath the district. The lanternlight faded behind them as the passage curved, and soon the only illumination came from Alyra’s blade.

Every step carried them farther from the world Elowynn knew.

The sounds overhead dulled until the city’s collapse became more a vibration than noise, a pressure moving through the soles of her feet and up into her bones.

Caelyn’s weight leaned against her again, and this time, he couldn't hide it.

Elowynn stopped before he stumbled. “You need a moment.”

“No,” he ground out.

“You do.”

“Elowynn.”

The way he said her name made her look at him despite the danger around them. His voice carried exhaustion, pain, and a plea he would not speak aloud. He wanted to rest, but he believed resting meant becoming a burden. Resting meant slowing them down. Resting meant allowing his body to admit what his mind refused.

She tightened her arm around him, her shoulder aching badly. “Caelyn. This is me telling you that if you fall, I cannot carry you.”

His jaw worked once.

Korvel looked back from several paces ahead, and for once he had the sense not to comment. Alyra moved to the next junction and held position, blade angled toward the passage behind them. Lora stepped closer to Elowynn and held out one of the smaller crystals, its glow faint but steady.

“Here,” she said. “It may help.”

Elowynn accepted it with her free hand. The crystal hummed weakly in her palm. She instinctively fed a thread of resonance into it, coaxing the light brighter.

Caelyn flinched–Elowynn lowered it at once.

“No,” he said, catching her wrist before she could tuck it away. His fingers were cold, but the black veins along his hand had faded since she touched him in the chamber. “Keep it. You need light.”