Chapter 29. Ash Beneath the Stairs

They didn’t run at first.

The crypt had been still for so long that even the faint sound—stone sliding against stone, far above—didn’t register as a threat. Aria and Jules were halfway back through the low tunnel before the temperature shifted. Not down. Up.

Way up.

The air pressed closer, carrying with it the stench of scorched meat and old smoke.

“Something’s moving,” Jules said, already picking up speed.

Aria glanced behind them, heart tight.

The stone corridor no longer felt abandoned. It felt like a throat. And they were running through something that had only just started to wake.

The moment they reached the landing near the first set of burial alcoves, the sound came again—louder this time. Not footsteps.

A scrape.

Like claws on stone.

“Faster,” Aria gasped.

The lights in their lantern began to sputter.

Ahead, the stairwell loomed. But every step closer made the walls feel narrower, the ceiling lower. It