CHAPTER 381: CHAPTER-381.

That explained why the air felt like this—old, stubborn, not meant for anyone to linger. The tunnel swallowed their footsteps and gave nothing back. The only link between them was Veer’s grip on her shirt and the soft drag of Cutie’s breathing against his chest. He held Cutie like solid weight, one arm under his legs, the other tight around his back, careful with every step so his head didn’t hit rock.

Time stretched strangely in the dark. Kaya counted her own breaths to keep it straight—short in, short out, like Veer had told her. After a while, her shoulders ached and her thighs burned, but it felt more like a long, grim walk than hours lost. Twenty minutes? Thirty? Hard to tell when every step looked the same: rough stone underfoot, low ceiling above, claw‑scarred walls just out of reach on either side. Places like this can run for long distances under old settlements, only thin cracks and shafts feeding them air.

The air stayed thick. Not choking, just... grudging. Each breath had to be pulled in and pushed out on purpose. Kaya’s chest felt tight, but she refused to pant. Veer’s breathing behind her stayed slow and steady, but she heard the strain underneath it now—holding Cutie this long in this air was work, even for him. Still no complaint. No muttering about weight. Just that solid presence at her back and his hand on her shirt, trusting her sight more than his here.

After what felt like half an hour, something changed.

It was small at first. The dark ahead was still mostly black, but not as solid. A faint smear interrupted it, a hint of softer grey. Kaya slowed without thinking. "You see that?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Veer answered. His fingers curled a little tighter, but he didn’t push past her. "Keep the pace. Stone tricks depth in these throats."

The air shifted too. It was still cool and damp, but it didn’t press so hard on their lungs now. When Kaya drew in her next breath, she tasted something new on it—wet rock, open space, and under that a familiar note that made her skin prickle.

Water.

At first it was just a feeling on her tongue, a memory. Then she heard it. A soft, distant hiss under their footsteps. With each step, the sound grew thicker, peeling away from the echo of their boots. The hiss turned into a steady rush, then a low, rolling roar that she could feel faintly in the soles of her feet.

"Waterfall," Kaya said, and realized her mouth had twitched toward a smile. "So you weren’t lying."

"Would be a stupid thing to lie about," Veer said, but there was a little warmth back in his tone now. He adjusted Cutie once more, pulling him up so his weight sat easier against his chest. "Last stretch. Watch your step. It lifts, then drops."

The tunnel’s floor began to slope up more sharply. The ceiling rose with it, giving them a little more room. The grey ahead widened, no longer just a smear but a pale wash. The roar of water swelled until it filled the whole space, drowning out the memory of silence from deeper in. A cool mist licked across Kaya’s face, dampening her bruised throat, chilling the sweat on her skin.

"There’s a ledge just after the mouth," Veer said, raising his voice over the sound. "Narrow. Don’t rush."

Kaya eased forward until the rock under her toes tilted, then flattened. The tunnel’s end was a jagged crack broken open in the stone, its edges slick with spray. Beyond it, light—not bright like day, but enough for her eyes to catch the shifting white of falling water and the darker shapes of rock around it.

"Got it," she said. "I’ll go first. You follow when I’m clear."

She slipped sideways through the crack.

Sound hit first—water slamming down from a high tear in the rock, a constant thunder that filled the cavern. Cold mist burst against her skin, soaking her clothes in a heartbeat. A narrow ledge hugged the wall just outside the crack, dropping away into a wide pool of black water below. The waterfall itself was a white sheet in the dimness, turned silver by the thin light sneaking in around its edges. The cave roof arched high enough to swallow three inns on top of each other.

Kaya drew in a breath and it rushed into her lungs easy for the first time since they’d gone under—cool, clean, heavy with river scent instead of stale stone.

Veer edged out behind her a moment later, shoulders turned to shield Cutie from the rock. The spray caught them both, beading in Veer’s hair, streaking Cutie’s face. He found the ledge by feel, boots testing each bit of stone before putting weight on it.

Spray hit Kaya’s face as soon as she stepped onto the narrow ledge, cold and sharp, soaking into the dried blood on her skin. The waterfall roared beside them, so loud it felt like it was inside her skull. At least the air was clean here. Each breath slid into her chest easier than in the tunnel, even if it came with a chill.

"Here," she said, voice rough. "Set him down for a bit."

Veer lowered himself carefully, turning so his back stayed between Cutie and the drop. He eased Cutie onto the flattest part of the ledge, leaned against the rock wall, then stayed right there, one arm still around his chest to stop him sliding. No mocking now. Just a tight jaw and the strain in his shoulders from carrying him this long.

Kaya dropped into a crouch on Cutie’s other side. The ledge was wet and narrow, so she braced one hand flat on the rock to keep steady.

"Cutie," she called, leaning in. "Hey. Look at me."

His eyelashes trembled, then lifted. His gaze found her slowly, like the world was a little out of focus, but when he saw her, his mouth tried to curve.