Ryker strode along the wall, clenching and unclenching his fists to let out his anxiety.
The group still had yet to return. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
The Royal Spire was glowing with power, something that Ryker had never seen it do.
He reached Elysia, who was standing just below, talking in a hushed tone with Ghost, the masked woman who'd been keeping guard on Magnus Vaelor. Who was guarding him now?
Ryker climbed down the ladder carefully, his injuries over the past days still healing. Unlike many of the other miners, he'd yet to find a fragment.
Not that he really wanted to. The way those things influenced the mind were…disturbing. He wanted to remain himself.
He feared that if he did form a bond with one, he'd turn into a monster. Or even worse, someone he no longer recognized.
Just like Elysia now.
The woman he used to know was gone. Now, she was stoic, angry, and much more willing to gamble.
