Helga led the retreat, her warhammer raised, her dark eyes scanning the tunnel ahead. Mira flanked her right, daggers drawn. Ylva guarded the rear, her claws extended, her ears swiveling at every sound. Thalion walked beside Mae, his pale eyes fixed on the cocoon in her arms.
The cow woman's hooves clicked against the stone. Her breathing was heavy. The cocoon pulsed against her chest, warm and alive.
Behind them, the cave collapsed.
A thunderous roar echoed through the tunnels, followed by the crash of falling stone. Dust billowed after them, choking the air, stinging their eyes.
Helga glanced back. The passage they had just exited was now a wall of rubble.
"We can't go back," she said. "Even if we wanted to."
Mira's tail flicked. "Then we go forward."
They ran.
The cocoon in Mae's arms began to twitch, violently.
