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Mazabuta. Annalise. And the machine…

I don’t know what I expect. I don’t even know what I’ll say. What if I’m too late?

Z’leni leads us to a side corridor, narrow and partially collapsed. The air shifts—cooler here. Still dry, but now it carries the faint scent of something long-forgotten. Dust and ash, time and rot. A few more turns and Z’leni slows, crouching to inspect a barely visible seam in the rock. His hand presses against it and the stone gives way with a soft grind, revealing a hidden passage.

Z’leni ducks inside first, silent. I follow, heart pounding.

The space beyond is a low, wide chamber. It looks like it was a storage cache in the past. Shelving units, long since decayed, crates half-crushed under falling rock. The ceiling droops where part of it has caved in. There are piles of ash in the corners, but it’s dry. Hidden. A temporary haven.

“We will rest here,” Z’leni says. “I’ll go into the city alone, the two of you would stand out like a flaring torch.”

“You can’t go out there alone,” I protest, stepping towards him.

To my surprise Ryatuv is at my side. His tail slaps the floor with a smack.

“You are a fool,” Ryatuv snarls.

“What bright idea do you have?” Z’leni barks at Ryatuv. “This was how it had to be from the beginning.”

“You fought their forces. You think they won’t know you?” Ryatuv asks, his voice low and dangerous. “No. This is foolish. There must be another way.”

“Must?” Z’leni says. “Of course. I’ll wait while you figure that out, because clearly the lizard knows my people better than I do.”

Ryatuv hisses, his wings popping open with a snap as his hands curl into fists. Their anger crackles, but I wedge between them, shoving them apart with a glare.

“Stop,” I say, my voice cracking with frustration. “Just… stop. We’ve come too far. We’re better than this.”

They growl and huff, puffing their chests out. I lock eyes with Z’leni then Ryatuv and almost in unison they stop. Their chests deflate and they each take a half-step back. Ryatuv even mutters something that resembles an apology.

“We didn’t think this part through,” Z’leni says, walking over to the far wall and peering through a crack.

He runs his hands over the unbroken portion of the wall and then I hear a click. Silently a portion of the wall swings partway open. Z’leni grunts, looks quickly back then sticks his head through the opening.

“I know the resistance is on the outskirts,” Z’leni says, pulling back inside.

“Do you know how to find them?” Ryatuv asks.

The frown on Z’leni’s face is more than answer enough. He stares at the ground then rubs the back of his head.

“I’ll have to ask,” Z’leni says.

The door swings open behind him. My eyes widen and a yelp slides out of my mouth because I can’t form words. Ryatuv leaps forward, grabbing Z’leni by the shoulder and jerking him away from the opening.

Z’leni stumbles towards me, drawing his blade as he does. I stumble back, both to get space and to keep from being crushed if Z’leni falls. Ryatuv is a blur. His arm thrusts through the opening and jerks someone inside. His other hand curls into a tight fist, already swinging?—

“Stop!” Z’leni barks.

Ryatuv, in an impressive display of control, stops his fist right before it lands on the Urr’ki’s face. The Urr’ki in his grip growls and smacks his arm aside.

“Mazabuta?” Z’leni asks, stepping past Ryatuv.

The Urr’ki nods, his eyes shifting from Z’leni to Ryatuv.

“It’s true then,” Mazabuta says.

He ignores Ryatuv who lets him go. Mazabuta turns back to the door, stretches his arm into the opening and a dirty human female walks in. Her hands cradle her swollen belly. Her eyes meet mine and everything else falls away.

“Hello,” she says, a little breathless, but with a bright smile.