Chapter 394: Cracks in the Nest

The surface was slick, hardened by layered resin and compacted debris — smooth in unnatural places, jagged in others, but never offering a reliable anchor point. Her fingers pressed against it, testing. The truth was, Sophia wasn’t much of a climber. She had only done it once, after all, and even that was after lots of effort.

But she knew the basics... at least, that’s what she told herself.

She tried to find any crack, any ridge, any indentation she could hook her fingers into. But there was nothing.

She circled slowly, scanning the curvature from multiple angles, craning her neck upward to search for any break in the surface. The opening above was a bit distant. The only way she even knew there was an opening was through the little light coming in from the gap.

Her mind spun rapidly, calculations colliding with desperation.

Could she stack the bones instead? Would that help?

She took a look at the bones scattered on the floor, then shook her head. There was no way she could use them at all.

Behind her, Tarin shifted weakly.

"I’m cold," he murmured.

Sophia turned instantly.

She rushed back to him, dropping to her knees. Without hesitation, she shrugged off the remainder of her cloak and draped it carefully over his shoulders and torso, tucking it around him as snugly as she could.

"Hold on to this," she told him gently, adjusting it around his frame. "Don’t let it slip."

His fingers clutched the fabric weakly.

His eyes shimmered with moisture as he looked up at her.

"I don’t know if I’ll make it," he whispered, voice cracking faintly.

Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

"Don’t say that," she said sharply. "You’re not dying here. I won’t let you."

His lips trembled.

"I’m tired," he whispered.

"I know," she said softly, brushing his hair back from his damp forehead. "But you’re stronger than you think."

He shook his head faintly.

Sophia leaned closer, meeting his gaze directly.

"It doesn’t matter how," she said firmly. "I’m getting you out of this nest. I promise you. Even if I have to tear the walls apart with my bare hands."

A tiny, fragile smile flickered across his face at that — disbelief mixed with faint comfort.

"You’re... weird," he murmured.

She let out a quiet huff of breath that was almost a laugh. "Someone I know prefers stubborn."

His eyes softened further, tears slipping quietly down his cheeks.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Her throat tightened painfully.

She squeezed his hand gently. "Just stay with me. Keep your eyes open. Talk to me if you can."

He nodded slowly.

Sophia took a look around the nest, and one thing didn’t sit right with her. It didn’t make any sense. The only way out was up... but then how did the Trihydras get in? They couldn’t fly, and she doubted they used the opening up there. It wouldn’t remain undisturbed if they did, after all.

She turned to Tarin. "Do you remember how you got here?" she asked him.

Tarin shook his head. "I was with our group. Maya, my sister, and I were with Jarek, and we followed what Owl had told us, but then... then we... got to meet the bad people, and Jarek said we should go another way... but something from the ground dragged me back, and suddenly we were surrounded by the snakes with... with three heads. I only remember Maya screaming and crying, but I don’t remember anything else. The next thing I know, I’m here, and some people..." He shivered and paused for a while before continuing. "...some people tried to kill me. I wasn’t the only one from our group though, but Killian... he tried to escape but was killed by those people. The ones with that cloak... and Helios tried to escape with me, but the snake hatched and killed him. It bit me too, and I passed out."

Sophia was quiet as she listened to his words. Tarin couldn’t really help her because he had blacked out numerous times. He had very little information, but one thing was sure to Sophia — there had to be some other way out.

She took in a deep breath and looked around the nest again. It was huge, extremely so, but there was no opening at all. There was nothing that signified the Trihydras used somewhere else to enter, but Sophia was sure of it.

The Trihydras could not use the top. They couldn’t move from there. She looked at the floor for any trails, anything at all that could lead her to something she could use, but there was nothing except blood on the floor and the bones — numerous ones — and now that Sophia was looking at them better, some didn’t even look human.

Sophia closed her eyes. "Think, Sophia. There must be something."

She opened her eyes again when she heard a crack.

She turned and saw the egg.

It was opening more.

Tarin cried out beside her. "We wouldn’t survive if it comes out. They... they... use us as food. The first one ate the others," he told her.

Sophia’s heart raced at that. The Trihydras were feeding them to their young.

Sophia held her swords tightly in her hands. There was no way she was going to give up or go down without a fight.

The crack stopped, but Sophia didn’t relax her stance. Her eyes stayed trained on the egg as she shielded Tarin from whatever was happening.

But then something else caught her attention.

Right next to the egg stood a woman, smiling at her.

Sophia frowned. The only people who had been in the nest were just her and Tarin, so where did the woman come from?

"Who are you?" she asked the woman, but the woman didn’t answer. She beckoned Sophia instead.

Sophia frowned deeper. "I have no idea who you are, so if you want me to come with you, you’re going to have to start speaking," she said with a growl.

"What..." Tarin started, but then suddenly, his words changed. "There’s a story about how the Moon Goddess walked among her people and lived with them. People say she still appears to her people when they need it."

Sophia turned to Tarin in shock, her whole body stiff from his words.

"What?" she asked him.