Lorien POV

The darkness pressed in on me, suffocating and absolute. The only thing keeping panic from swallowing me whole was Auren’s breathing steady, powerful, grounding. My head rose and fell with the rhythm of his chest as he ran, each breath of his a tether holding me to the world.

My eyelids felt sewn shut. No matter how hard I tried to will them open, they refused to obey.

“How much farther?” Auren asked, the edge in his voice sharp enough to cut. It wasn’t really a question; ...