Chapter 53

“Aiden!” Sarah’s scream knifes through the air, the caves throwing the sound back in a chorus of loss. “Aiden!”

“Sarah, you can’t go in there. You mustn’t!”

“Let go of me.” There’s the smack of flesh on flesh. “Let me go. Aiden!”

“Sarah, stop!”

“Aiden!”

The lamps are dark and cold, but she throws herself blindly into the cave mouth, eyes too blinded with tears to see even as the flames flicker to life. Her scream is no word at all now, just a wail as she runs.

I catch her. “It’s okay. It’s alright. I’m here.” The sense of her fills me, overwhelming grief abruptly replaced by an equally vast tide of relief and joy.

“Aiden,” she says again, her hands seeking me out in the darkness. “I couldn’t feel you any more. You weren’t there. You’d gone. Oh, God, I’m a mess. I’m so glad you’re safe. Are you okay? Are you… you don’t feel hurt. What are you wearing?”

“I’m not hurt. Come on. Let’s get back to where there’s more light. Y