Keiser's grip on the dagger tightened. "What in the hells did you do, Aisha?" he muttered, not entirely sure if he wanted her to answer.
He shot a look at the fuming mage. Aisha's face was flushed red from anger and exertion, hair sticking to her temples as she spat, "None of your business... but why are you here? I'll tell Gideon you left your post at the palace!"
Keiser only rolled his eyes. "Wasn't planning to keep polishing royal boots forever anyway, Aisha," he muttered, voice dripping with dry amusement. "Boot-licking doesn't suit me."
Before she could fire back, he took a few running steps toward the pit's edge and jumped.
"Just do your job," he called over his shoulder as he slid down, "and I'll consider you scot-free!"
The moment his boots hit the slope of the pit, the everything scream around him. Blades of air tore through the smoke, thin, invisible lines that sliced through the broken ground like razors.
