Verona stood frozen at the threshold, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle a sob that threatened to tear from her throat. Her eyes, wide and stinging with the sudden transition from darkness to torchlight, took in the wreckage of the man she loved.
"Elric..." she whispered.
At the sound of her voice, Elric's head snapped up.
"Verona... no," he rasped. "Get... out... Zachren! Rion!"
Verona didn't wait for permission. She ignored the startled gasps of the two knights and rushed to the iron bars, her silk skirts sweeping through the filth of the floor. She reached through the cold iron, her palms cupping his burning face.
His skin was so hot it felt as though it would blister her fingers. He was vibrating, a fine tremor running through his entire frame that felt like a localized earthquake.
"What happened to you?" she cried, her voice rising in a crescendo of panic. "Elric, look at me! Why are you in this place?"
