"Shit! Nyr!"
Rodolf shouted out his eyes darting between me and Roda.
"Stay close," I said calmly.
Rodolf threw me a sharp glance, but it was Roda who snapped. "How can you stay so calm?!"
The blinding light flared around us like a collapsing star, swallowing everything in white. I turned my eyes toward her with a faint smile.
"Would you rather I cry and scream along with you?" .
She grimaced, lips pressed into a tight line, but said nothing more. The moment hung for a heartbeat—then the world spun violently.
There was a rush, like being pulled through a funnel of air and mana, and then—
-Thud!
I hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of my lungs by the cold, unwelcoming stone beneath me. Moments later, I heard two more impacts.
Rodolf and Roda crashed down beside me in a heap, groaning. We didn't waste a second—scrambling to our feet in unison.
