Chapter 193

Realizing she was staring, Leah jolted, her eyes flicking up to meet the stranger’s—away from that metal cup. That sizable cup. Between a woman’s legs.

To her side, Elliot gave one slow whistle, vocalizing Leah’s—and probably everyone’s—thoughts on their new arrivals. Adam elbowed him hard, to which Elliot let out a little oomph, then stiffened when he realized what he’d done. Leah sympathized, at least with how he’d been unable to control his initial reaction. The squad of five was ... quite the sight.

Slowly, she forced her brain to start working again.

What had the woman asked?

“Tenet?” Leah repeated dumbly. “No. We’re not from Tenet.” The question confirmed that their party was, though. It felt a bit ridiculous that Leah and her squad could ever be mistaken for a Tenet team. They didn’t look the part, where this team very much did, based on the quality of their gear—or just the way they carried themselves. Even if the gear was ... rather strange. “But we’re not independents either. Ether Deep.”

The woman tilted her head. She obviously didn’t recognize the name. Leah couldn’t say she was surprised.

“It’s a non-sanctioned academy.” Top delvers like the ones from Tenet tended to be in their own little world. That they didn’t recognize smaller schools came as no shock. “You five are Tenet, then?” she asked, just to make sure.

“Yeah. First years.”

Leah’s brain slowly started to catch up. To make the conclusions she should already have if she hadn’t been so flustered from the catastrophe earlier. And the very strange attire of the Tenet squad.

Leah wasn’t necessarily happy to have run into them, but all things considered, it was good news. It meant Leah and her team weren’t in as much danger. Why would a Tenet squad rob them? Even at first glance, she could tell they were fully geared out. There might be some profit to be made, but not much, not by the standards of Tenet students. It wouldn’t be worth the effort.

Plus, their Academy had a reputation to maintain. While mostly unenforceable, delver-against-delver combat was illegal. Laws still applied down in the dungeon. Just, they were more for show than anything, because how could they be enforced? Most Tenet students wouldn’t risk the trouble for such a paltry reward.

Then, another realization hit her.

Not only was their arrival not another disaster compounding upon their first ... but maybe Leah and her team had found salvation through random chance.

Had they found someone who could help?

Leah dismissed the idea as soon as it occurred. These were Tenet students. Why would they care? Those rich bastards never concerned themselves with anything besides what directly benefited them.

But, then again, just maybe...

There was a chance?

Leah tried to squash down the hope blooming in her chest. But after despairing over her brother’s kidnapping and Adam’s maybe even justified suggestions to cut their losses and save their own lives, the other squad’s arrival was a beaming ray of light.

She couldn’t fight away the anxious hopefulness that surged in her. Leah glanced sideways at her three teammates, then took an accidental step toward the other group in her sudden eagerness. The red-haired woman’s eyes flicked to her, though she didn’t seem concerned by the sudden movement.

“We, um—” Leah started, her head spinning, talking without having organized her thoughts properly. “We just got out of an ambush. Where we lost half our team. Four of them.”

The woman blinked in surprise. To be fair, Leah’s words had come out of nowhere, without them even finishing proper introductions. But Leah continued, the words tumbling from her. It was possible salvation. Unlikely. But possible.

“There were these wolves,” Leah said. “Stronger than they should’ve been. We didn’t stand a chance. And they only dragged four of us away, despite that they could’ve taken us all. Then there were these keys.” She gestured behind herself, at the cave entrance—the chains hanging on the sides, where the keys had been attached. “With their names on them. One each. We think the dungeon is baiting us to go inside. It’s a two-part encounter of some kind. Probably suicide. But my brother’s in there. We can’t just leave them, but there’s also only four of us.”