The silence that fell after Sylphie's comment wasn't just tense—it was dense, like the frozen air of the dungeon itself. Kael's gaze swept across the cells once more, absorbing the brutal scene: lives hanging by a thread, breaths barely moving the air, pulses as fragile as the crack of ice about to break.
He clenched his fist.
"Let's finish this quickly."
Sylphie nodded, though her shoulders were stiff. Amelia remained restless, moving her staff from side to side, as if she wanted to discharge her own anxiety onto the wood. Irelia prepared herself with the lethal calm of someone who had been waiting for an opportunity for a long time.
"How long until they notice?" Amelia asked softly.
Sylphie closed her eyes and expanded her senses again. Tiny particles of green mana vibrated around her, like light dust.
"Two minutes," she replied. "Maybe less. The temperature is rising outside. Something caught their attention."
"My heat." Kael took a deep breath. "Great."
