Chapter 13 Trust And Betrayal

The hallway stretched out in front of them, its cold, sterile lights flickering in rhythm with the pounding of Lila's heart. Each step she took seemed heavier than the last, the weight of the situation pressing down on her chest. They were getting closer to the artifact, closer to the leader, and yet there was an unmistakable sense of unease in the air. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being drawn into a trap, and the closer they got to their target, the more the darkness around them seemed to grow. Lila glanced at Kai, walking beside her. His expression was grim-focused, and yet there was something in his eyes that unsettled her. She had known him long enough to read the subtle shifts in his gaze, the tightness in his jaw, the way his shoulders stiffened when something was on his mind. The intensity of their mission was palpable, but she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that there was more to this than Kai was letting on. It was the same feeling she had been trying to suppress for days—the feeling that something wasn't right between them.