The moment Aranea's scream faded into the echoing corridors, the world stopped.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
No one breathed. Then…
Zann sprinted.
"Aranea!" His voice cracked, raw and terrified.
Leonel cursed and lunged after him. "Zann, WAIT—!"
But it was already too late.
The entire group broke into a run down the twisting stone hallway, boots slamming against ancient floors, torches flickering violently as they passed. Runes on the walls glowed with a sickly hue—pulsing, throbbing, reacting to Aranea's magic struggling somewhere ahead.
Elenea was crying and running at the same time. "Please be okay, please be okay…"
Beau's jaw clenched, expression sharp and vicious. "If that masked bastard touched a single strand of her hair—"
Aleck was dead silent, but his draconic scales glimmered faintly along his arm, a sign that he was one wrong breath away from losing control.
Auron and Aerin ran beside them, their expressions grave.
