[ Old world… inside the cave ]
Autumn's knees gave out before she realised she was falling.
The stone floor was cold…and too hard beneath her, sending a jolt through her already aching body.
But she barely felt it…her skin was numb…her ears were ringing.
Her voice scraped out in a hoarse whisper.
"What do you mean my father is gone? Where… where did he go? What is this nonsense?"
She stared up at Orion, searching his face for some flicker…some sign that he was joking, that this was some cruel attempt to frighten her into obedience… that this was another trap to keep her safe… anything… whatever… but not what she was stopping herself desperately from thinking.
But there was nothing.
Her chest tightened, her hands flying up to clutch at the front of her tunic as though she could hold her heart in place before it split apart.
And then the images started replaying even though she squeezed her eyes shut.
The mist on the battlefield.
The wet copper smell of blood.
