Florian and Hendrix began running again, weaving through the chaos, their footsteps slamming against the marble floor.
The crowd was a blur of terrified faces, nobles and servants alike pushing past in frantic waves, their screams echoing off the palace walls.
Florian's chest tightened, his breath uneven. His mind kept circling back to the shadow that had flown past them.
"I swear I saw..." he mumbled, voice breaking, but Hendrix didn't answer.
Hendrix's grip on his wrist only tightened as he conjured a faint shimmer of magic around them.
Florian realized with a jolt it was concealment—an invisibility ward, or at least something close.
The panicked nobles brushed past without sparing them a glance, as though their eyes slid right over the two of them.
Florian's shock grew heavier with every step. His head was buzzing, torn between the memory of Heinz's words earlier and the sight of that monstrous blur.
Until—
"ATHENA?! ATHENA, ARE YOU THERE?! WHERE'S—"
