*Crack...*
The chains between Rayah's hands snapped in half with one clean slash. Two more precise cuts, and the cuffs fell to the ground with metallic clangs.
Rayah stared, dumbstruck. Tension she hadn't even realized she carried melted away like snow on a warm morning. Arcane energy welcomed her back.
"Zephyr?" The name barely escaped her lips. She wanted to scream at him, demand answers, ask where the hell he'd been. But the gravity in his eyes made her choose patience instead.
"It's time to leave."
He pulled her to her feet. Pain shot through her legs like lightning. Despite recovering slightly, they still threatened to snap like dry twigs, but she held steady.
"Follow me. We have no time." His whisper carried the urgency of a shout as he leaped through the window into morning sunlight.
Rayah's mind lagged behind, but her body followed.
"Where have you been?" The question finally burst out. "What's going on!?"
