The rope bridge swayed precariously, each step a gamble against the chasm's hungry depths. Isla, her knuckles white, clung to the frayed ropes, her gaze fixed on the opposite side. Kai, ever vigilant, scanned the shadows, his senses heightened.
Midway across, a low growl echoed from the darkness below. The bridge shuddered, the ropes straining under an unseen force. Isla gasped, her grip tightening. A dark shape lunged from the shadows, its claws scraping against the bridge's planks.
Kai drew his makeshift weapon, ready to defend them. But the creature wasn't their only threat. Behind them, the glowing stone, their guide, flickered and died, plunging them into near-total darkness.
"What's happening?" Isla cried, her voice trembling.
Then, a voice, smooth and deceptively gentle, echoed from the darkness behind them. "It seems your journey ends here."
Isla and Kai turned, their eyes struggling to pierce the gloom. A figure emerged from the shadows, their form obscured by the darkness. But the voice was unmistakable.
"Anya?" Isla whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.
The figure stepped into the faint light filtering from the chasm's edge. It was Anya, but her eyes, usually warm and reassuring, now gleamed with a cold, predatory light. In her hand, she held the glowing stone, now pulsing with a dark, malevolent energy.
"You trusted me," Anya said, her voice laced with a cruel amusement. "How foolish."
Kai's weapon fell from his numb fingers. He couldn't believe it. Anya, their ally, their guide, had betrayed them.
"Why?" Isla asked, her voice choked with emotion.
Anya smiled, a chillingly empty expression. "Because, my dear Isolde, I have always served the true power. And that power is Thane."
A wave of dizziness washed over Isla. Anya, a servant of Thane. The betrayal cut deeper than any blade.
"You led us here," Kai said, his voice filled with anger.
"Yes," Anya purred. "To your doom." With a flick of her wrist, Anya hurled the stone into the chasm. The bridge began to unravel, the frayed ropes snapping one by one. Their escape was gone, and their supposed ally was their executioner.