CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE - PERILOUS CAVES

Anna closed her eyes, focusing on her heightened senses. She could feel it too – a subtle thrumming, as if the very rocks around them were pulsing with energy. When she opened her eyes, she found Erik watching her intently. "What do you sense?" he asked softly. "It's... hard to describe," Anna replied, furrowing her brow. "It's like there's a heartbeat, but it's not coming from any of us. It's all around us, in the stone, in the air." Arryk stood up, stretching his lean muscles. "Whatever it is, we won't find it sitting here. We should move on." They gathered their gear and set off once more, following the winding path deeper into the cave system. The phosphorescent fungi grew more abundant as they progressed, bathing everything in an ethereal blue glow. Strange rock formations loomed out of the darkness – twisted spires and delicate arches that seemed to defy gravity. As they walked, Anna found herself falling into step beside Freya. The older woman had been uncharacteristically