The hand coming through the seam had Lyria's mother's ring on it.
That was the part that made Lyria move first.
She dropped to her knees by the crack, ignoring the way Kael grabbed for her shoulder and tried to keep her back. Dust was still falling from the broken wall above. The passage behind them was dim and cold. The hand pushed harder, fingers scraping stone.
"Mom?" Lyria said, and her voice came out wrecked.
The hand froze for half a second.
Then a woman's voice, strained and low, answered from the other side.
"Don't just stand there. Pull me out."
That was enough.
Kael swore and crouched with her. Ronan got there too, then Mira. Together they dug their fingers into the seam and hauled. The stone resisted for one brutal second, then gave. The opening widened just enough for a body to force through.
A woman came out on one knee, coughing hard.
Lyria's mother.
Alive.
