Page 72 of Obsidian Dream

“Fuck,” Khalida whispered, her voice filled with dejection.The word was barely audible, but it went right through him and pierced his heart.

He pulled his blaster out, lowering it as he waited for Khalida to say something else.A glance at the charge level informed him Blanche was less than twenty percent.

Khalida remained silent.

He holstered Blanche and crawled toward her.Each time he moved, a flash of pain jolted through him, each one worse than the last.

It didn’t take long to find her.Khalida had found a small entrance, an enclave that burrowed deeper into the wall.He hunched his body, trying not to brush up against the narrowing walls as he half crawled, half slid toward her.After nine feet, it widened out to a small opening that was large enough for him to kneel in without scraping his head on the ceiling.

Sitting crossed legged, Khalida stared at the wall of rocks in front of her.Anger almost drowned out the hint of hopelessness that surrounded her.“It’s supposed to be our way out.It led to a bigger cavern,” she hissed as she threw her hands up in the air.Rage rolled off her.“But this—one of the aftershocks must have triggered a rockslide.”

Talik patiently waited for her to continue.

She took a breath as she looked up at the ceiling, barely an inch away from her head.She reached out and touched a small rock, gently pulling it out as if it was the most precious thing.Pieces of the ceiling sprinkled onto them, and the chunks were getting bigger.She gently returned it.“We can’t use it.The rocks are too unstable, and we will create the conditions for another landslide if we move them.”She looked at him, eyes wide with regret.“We’re stuck, Talik.I led us to a dead end.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

TALIK

If Talik stayed stilllong enough, the pain stopped.Until he had to breathe again.

They were sitting on the highest ledge, the ceiling a good three feet above them.Across from them, the causeway had long ago disappeared.Despite their position, his feet now skimmed the surface of the water.It wouldn’t be too long before they wouldn’t be on dry land, not that they technically were.The water had begun to lap at the ledge.He glanced across at Khalida.Somehow, he’d convinced her to come back to where he was, in the opening, but her fear of the water kept her in place, leaning against the wall.If he stretched out, he could graze her ankles with his fingertips, but despite their physical closeness, she felt forever out of his reach.Left alone in her own world.Adjusting himself, he scowled at his clothing.It had long ago started to chafe, the material had not been designed to be submerged.Talik had lost count of the number of times he had dived in and searched for another way out.

The tension in the air was increasing, and there were only so many times he could observe Khalida wiping down her perfectly dry swords and knives.She always needed to be active, it helped her think, or at least that was what she used to tell him.

“Say it.”

Khalida looked at him, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

He could deal with an angry Khalida.“The swords are clean, couldn’t be cleaner even if you tried.Excluding the obvious, what exactly are you thinking about?”

For a second, he thought Khalida was going to unleash on him.Or stab him.At this point, he would welcome either.

She lowered the sword she was wiping down and placed it on her lap.Folding her hands together, she looked him straight in the eye.Unflinching.“What did you mean when you said it was your fault?You said it multiple times when you were unconscious.It was like you were talking to someone.”

Taken aback by the question, his mind went blank.“I was hallucinating, and I don’t remember—”