Kaelen was unconscious in this strange place.

The darkness pressed against him from all sides—thick, suffocating, alive. His body hung suspended in silk, wrapped from neck to tail in layers of sticky white webbing. His axes were gone. His default armour had been breached which were his scales, usually so resilient, felt raw and exposed.

But despite being unconscious, his body was fighting.

The poison injected into his bloodstream—the insect’s venom—should have kept him under for hours. Days, maybe. But Kaelen was a reptile. He had lived for centuries in swamps and caves and dungeons. He had built up immunities, antibodies, and resistance to poisons and toxins and gases that would have killed other races.

His liver processed the venom faster than it should have. His heart pumped harder. His scales heated up, burning through the webbing that held him.

He woke up earlier than he should have.

His yellow eyes snapped open.

Darkness was everywhere. But his reptilian vision adjusted quickly, picking out shapes in the gloom.

Cocoons. Dozens of them. No, Hundreds, maybe.

They hung from the ceiling like grotesque fruit, suspended by thick strands of silk. Each one was the size of a grown creature—some larger, some smaller. Some were still. Some pulsed faintly, as if something inside was breathing.

Kaelen pushed his hand forward. His claws pierced the cocoon, tearing a hole through the layers of silk. He ripped and shredded until the opening was wide enough to squeeze through.

He dropped to the ground, landing on all fours, his chest heaving.

And he saw them.

All of them.

Over a hundred cocoons hanging around him. Each one contained a creature—he could see their shapes through the translucent silk. Limbs folded. Heads bowed. Bodies curled into fetal positions.

They were all like him. They had been captured by whatever this was but this was beginning to feel like things were worse than they initially thought.

Kaelen’s heart hammered against his ribs. His claws scraped against the stone floor.

He was terrified.

Because he knew that whatever was in those cocoons was like him. Victim, prey or even food for the queen and her children. And if there were this many—if the queen had been hunting for this long, storing this many bodies—they could not be allowed to hatch.

Whatever was gestating inside those cocoonsm Whatever the queen had injected into them. It could not be allowed to be born.

Kaelen’s jaw tightened.

"I have to destroy them," he muttered to himself, his voice low and rough. "All of them. Before they wake up. Before the queen comes back."

He looked around. The chamber was vast—larger than any he had seen in these tunnels. The ceiling was lost in darkness. The walls were lined with more cocoons, stacked on top of each other like firewood.

"There’s too many," he growled. "I can’t... I can’t do this alone."

But luckily for him, the queen had gone out to hunt.

He could smell her absence—that thick, cloying scent of venom and silk was faint, fading. She had been gone for a while. Hours, maybe. Long enough for Kaelen to wake up.

Long enough to escape but as he turned to find an exit, he paused.

He couldn’t leave, not yet.

His yellow eyes narrowed.

"Or maybe," he whispered, "this isn’t the queen at all."

He thought about it. The way she had moved. The way she had trapped him was like she was prepping them for someone or something else.

"What if she’s just a worker?"

The thought made his blood run cold but his body soon ached from the entry of the stinger wound.

If this was a worker—just a worker—then the queen was somewhere else. These creatures might be more evolved than they initially feared.

And if there were this many cocoons already...

"It doesn’t matter," he said. "Queen or worker, I need to stop this," despite the cave already threatening to fall.

-

Chapter Continuation – Mira and Helga

Mira could hear the vibrations.

They traveled through the stone floor, up through her boots, into her bones. Distant at first, then closer. Rhythmic. Powerful. Each impact sent a tremor through the tunnel, shaking loose small rocks from the ceiling.

She instantly knew it was Helga.

No one else hit the ground that hard. No one else caused that much chaos with a single swing. The dwarf was down there somewhere, smashing something—or someone—into pieces.

Mira had been tracking the two vampires who had appeared earlier. The ones who had run past Jason’s group, who had been dragged away by webs, who had somehow escaped and found their way back to her section of the tunnels.

But when she looked back, they were nowhere to be seen.

Gone. Disappeared. As if they had never existed.

Mira’s amber eyes narrowed. Her tail went still.

They were that fast. That efficient. She was impressed despite herself.

She could also not smell them. Not a trace. Not a hint of blood or decay or the strange, metallic scent that usually clung to their kind. It was as if they had concealed their scent entirely.

Or rather, they had no scent at all.

Mira filed that information away for later. The vampires were not her problem right now. They could take care of themselves. If they survived the tunnels, fine. If they didn’t, also fine.

She had bigger concerns.

Helga was causing a cave-in.

---

Mira could hear the vibrations. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

They traveled through the stone floor, up through her boots, into her bones. Distant at first, then closer. Rhythmic and powerful. Each impact sent a tremor through the tunnel, shaking loose small rocks from the ceiling.

She instantly knew it was Helga.

No one else hit the ground that hard. No one else caused that much chaos with a single swing. The dwarf was down there somewhere, smashing something—or someone—into pieces.

Mira had been tracking the two vampires who had appeared earlier. The ones looking for their brother taken by the queen, who had been dragged away by webs.

But when she looked back, they were nowhere to be seen.

Gone as if they had never existed.

Mira’s amber eyes narrowed. Her tail went still right away.

They were that fast. She was impressed despite herself.

She could also not smell them, not a trace. Not a hint of blood or decay or the strange, metallic scent that usually clung to their kind. It was as if they had concealed their scent entirely.

Or rather, they had no scent at all.

Mira filed that information away for later. The vampires were not her problem right now. They could take care of themselves. If they survived the tunnels, fine. If they didn’t, also fine.

She had bigger concerns because that stupid Helga was causing a cave-in.

Mira found her by following the vibrations.

The tunnel opened into a chamber—or what used to be a chamber. The walls were cracked. The ceiling was bowed. Dust hung in the air like fog, stinging her eyes and coating her fur.

And in the center of the chaos stood Helga.

The dwarf’s chest was heaving. Her warhammer was raised. Her braided beard was covered in dust and goblin blood. She looked like she had just fought a war and wasn’t sure if she had won.

Mira stepped over a pile of rubble and approached.

"Helga."

The dwarf spun around, her hammer swinging—

Mira caught the shaft with her palm, stopping it inches from her face.

"Easy," Mira said. "It’s me."

Helga’s eyes widened. She lowered her hammer. "Mira? How did you find me?"

"I followed the noise." Mira glanced around the chamber. "You’ve been busy."

Helga laughed—a short, breathless sound. "You could say that."

The ground shook again. Smaller this time, but still noticeable. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

Mira’s tail flicked. "What happened? Where’s Kaelen?"

Helga’s face fell. Her grip tightened on her hammer.

"He’s gone, Mira. The queen—the spider queen—she took him. Dragged him into the darkness. I couldn’t stop her."

Mira’s expression didn’t change, but her tail went rigid. "Is he alive?"

"I don’t know. He was alive when she took him. Told me to find the others. To warn them." Helga gestured at the cracks spreading across the ceiling. "I’ve been trying to get back to you, but I... I overdid it."

"Overdid it how?"

"The cave is shaking. The ceiling is coming down." Helga looked up. "I smashed too hard."

Mira stared at her. Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the dwarf.

Helga froze.

Mira was not a hugger nor did she show affection. Mira was cold and distant and kept everyone at arm’s length. That was just who she was.

But right now, standing in a collapsing chamber surrounded by goblin corpses, she pulled Helga into an embrace.

Helga broke.

She buried her face in Mira’s shoulder, her body shaking, not from fear but from relief. From the simple fact that she was not alone.

"I thought I lost you too," Helga whispered.

"You didn’t." Mira’s voice was soft—softer than Helga had ever heard it. "We’re going to find him. Together."

Helga pulled back, wiping her eyes. "The little meat and his crew—"

"Also fine. Probably." Mira glanced around the chamber. "We need to move. This place is coming down."

Helga nodded. She looked toward the corner of the chamber.

The goblins were still there, three had managed to escape the cave in.

Cowering and huddled together. They had watched Helga slaughter their companions. They had felt the cave tremble. They knew they were next.

Helga followed Mira’s gaze. "Oh. I forgot about them."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "You left them alive?"

"There was no need to kill them." Helga shrugged. "They’re not a threat. Look at them. They’re—"

Mira moved.

She was fast—faster than Helga could track. Her daggers flashed in the torchlight, glinting once, twice, three times. Blood sprayed across the walls.

The goblins died before they could scream.

Helga stared at the bodies. Then at Mira.

"Why?"

Mira wiped her blades on a piece of torn cloth. "They would have followed us. Attacked us when our backs were turned."

Helga’s jaw tightened. She hadn’t thought of that.

"They were scared," she said quietly.

"Fear doesn’t make them less dangerous." Mira sheathed her daggers. "It makes them more desperate. And desperate creatures do desperate things."

Helga opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Mira wasn’t wrong. Goblins were cowards, but cowards with knives were still threats.

"Fine," Helga said. "But next time, let me do the killing."

Mira’s lips twitched. "Next time, don’t leave survivors."

The ground shook again. Louder this time. A large chunk of ceiling broke free and crashed to the floor between them, sending up a cloud of dust.

"Move," Mira said. "Now."

Helga didn’t argue.