(... continued)
"We need to head straight to Calareth."
Autumn gasped.
The sound tore out of her like she had been drowning and had only just broken the surface.
The words came sharp despite her visible weakness…
Dax caught her just in time, one arm coming around her shoulders, the other bracing her unsteady weight. She sagged against him, breath uneven, fingers curling weakly into his sleeve.
"Easy," he murmured automatically, though his mind was already racing. "Slow down. You are barely standing.Tell me what happened…"
But Autumn lifted her head anyway, eyes burning with a fevered clarity that didn't match the rest of her shattered state.
"Dax," she said, forcing each syllable out, "there is no slowing down…no time for any explanation…you don't understand what's at stake…time's running…" She was hyperventilating again.
" Ok! Ok! Calm down! " He frowned, steadying her more firmly as she swayed again.
