Starglow Basin secret tunnel

Snakeskin boy cast eyes of past souls to the mouth of the cave.

No, no no no no no.

A woman, woven in the sandswept hues of the desert they all called home; first of these wolves he'd seen that didn't look so ugly and marred.

Like he was, now.

But there was another type of ugliness here, the sort he'd learned to hear. He'd inch back as she got close, as he always did when one of these monsters got close. He didn't do anything! He didn't try to run! He was good... He was always good.

He couldn't make sense of it and yet he was forced to. Given mere fragments of seconds to adjust to how things were going to be. 

Fault of Nino, dreaded hound, soul stealer. He paid his penance. Not that Nokht knew of it. Not that he knew the man was cold and cursed and it was all his own fault same as the hound. He killed him just as much as pharoah's teeth did—guilt by association. 

A pale hand lifted his chin, and eyes, terrible eyes stared down at him. A pit filled his stomach. ..I'm sorry..

He didn't know what he was apologizing for. But it was all he could do, the only defense he had.