Hadassah opened her eyes; she couldn’t move; her body had been crushed under rock, her right arm and leg broken and flattened. She took quick, shallow breaths; her memory was hazy, and her mind fractured. She wasn’t sure where she was or what she had done. She remembered the scroll, but anything else came up blank, replaced with mind-breaking pain.

  “Rahn.” She called out weakly, but there was no reply. She tried again, this time calling out through their bond, but nothing.

  Dread crept up her ruined spine; the very idea that he was gone felt too surreal, where was he? He was supposed to be here.

  Fading in from the rubble was the sound of footsteps.

  Hadassah tried to look up, her heart unsure, whether to go into fight or flight. She could see a figure from the top corners of her eye, upside down, walking towards her. They were dragging a body with them and were hunched over as if carrying a load on their back.

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  The figure was barefooted, and they stopped right above her head, but despite how close the person was, Hadassah could not see their face. However, she could see a second pair of feet behind them, hanging as if they were carrying someone’s body.

  “Half a year, and you’re in this mess. If that stupid fish hadn’t told me where to find you, I would have wasted my time scouring the entire continent.” The voice of a woman said with mirth as if she were amused by this situation.

  That voice, she recognised that voice.

  The woman squatted amidst the rubble, and Hadassah caught sight of her vivid red hair and smelt the faint scent of myrtle. On her left wrist, a familiar pink bracelet gleamed despite the darkness.

  “It’s time to go home, Hadassah.”

  To Be Continued.