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"Bring it down, Iryza!" Ariel half-whispered, her voice trembling like a candle flame fighting against the wind.
"Oh! Right—the spell!" Iryza murmured quickly. She closed her eyes, her lips moving in a soft, ancient rhythm. A faint violet glow shimmered from her palms, swirling upward until a translucent barrier formed around them like a silken dome.
The air crackled with quiet power, the world outside their bubble dimming into silence.
"We can talk now," Iryza said, her lemon-green eyes glowing faintly. "No one will hear us."
Ariel hesitated, clutching her hands together. The chill of the dungeon still lived beneath her skin, and the damp scent of blood and stone haunted her breath. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll tell you what happened… but even I don't fully understand it."
Iryza leaned closer, her eyes searching Ariel's pale face. "Start from the beginning."
"After you left," Ariel began, voice tight, "I heard a sound—a loud one. Like something breaking free."
