The deeper they walked into the forest, the thicker the trunks became. The canopy overhead wove together into a solid roof of dark green leaves, suffocating the light.
Kiana tilted her head back, scanning the high branches for any signs of edible fruit or bird nests.
Suddenly, a microscopic rustle of leaves echoed from the branch directly above her head.
Gunner's snake-like pupils contracted into pinpricks. The muscles in his thighs bunched.
"Watch out!" Gunner roared.
He threw his entire body weight forward and shoved Kiana hard in the chest.
In the exact fraction of a second that Kiana stumbled backward, a mutated lynx the size of a full-grown leopard dropped from the canopy. Thick, razor-sharp bone spikes protruded from its spine.
Its massive claws slammed into the dirt exactly where Kiana had been standing, ripping deep trenches into the soil.
Kiana hit the trunk of a massive tree back-first. The air rushed out of her lungs in a painful grunt.
The mutated lynx missed its prey. It let out an ear-piercing shriek, spun around on its hind legs, and lunged straight at Gunner's throat.
Gunner didn't step back. He stepped in.
His bone knife flashed in the dim light. He twisted his torso, letting the lynx's claws slice through the air inches from his chest. With brutal precision, he drove the bone knife deep into the soft flesh behind the beast's ribs.
The lynx screamed in agony. It thrashed wildly, whipping its spiked tail toward Gunner's head.
Gunner ripped the knife out, pivoted on his heel, and delivered a devastating kick to the side of the lynx's skull.
The heavy thud of bone cracking echoed through the trees. The beast flew through the air, crashed into the dirt, and twitched violently before going completely still.
The entire fight lasted less than four seconds.
Kiana leaned against the tree, her chest heaving. She stared at Gunner's broad back, genuinely impressed by his lethal efficiency.
Kiana pushed herself off the massive tree trunk, taking a step toward the dead carcass to inspect the kill. However, the dim lighting of the canopy obscured a deep, sinkhole-like crevice hidden beneath a thick layer of rotting leaves and vines. As her boot came down, the ground gave way entirely.
She lost her balance entirely. Her body pitched sideways, falling fast toward a cluster of jagged, sharp rocks protruding from the bottom of the hidden pit.
Gunner saw her falling out of the corner of his eye. His heart slammed against his ribs.
He exploded off his back foot, moving faster than humanly possible.
A split second before Kiana's skull hit the rocks, Gunner's thick, muscular arms wrapped securely around her waist and shoulders.
He took the brunt of the momentum, pulling her hard against his chest.
Kiana slammed into his warm, solid body. Their chests pressed tightly together. She could feel his heart hammering wildly against her own.
Gunner's breathing was ragged. He looked down at her face, his eyes dark with a sudden, intense fear of losing her.
In that exact moment of intense physical contact, a sharp, synthetic chime rang out inside Kiana's brain.
[BEEP—Deep physical contact with eligible Consort detected.]
[System Note: Prior contact failed to meet full bio-resonance calibration threshold. Current neural-hormonal signature now exceeds activation parameters.]
[The Oracle System is activating... 10%... 50%... 100%!]
[System Activation Successful. Welcome, Host Kiana.]
Kiana's breath hitched. Her eyes widened in absolute shock as the mechanical voice echoed in her skull.
Gunner felt her body stiffen. He thought she was terrified from the near-death experience. His large hand awkwardly patted the middle of her back. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice rough.
Kiana snapped back to reality. Her gaze dropped to the jagged rocks jutting inches from her boots—a single wrong step would snap bone. She stilled her hands against his chest, not shoving him away. "Get us out of this pit first," she said, her voice tight. "Then I'll tell you if I'm hurt."
Gunner's serpentine eyes swept the crevice wall, calculating every handhold in the near-darkness, and pulled her toward the safest ascent.
