Round 119

Jeane's wings rustled in irritation as she steadied Halie, the heat of the other woman's skin a stark reminder of the magical strain they were all under. The binding screamed like tearing silk behind them, individual threads snapping audibly as Zha'thik's footsteps echoed up from below—too close, too fast. She couldn't afford to lose control now, not when Silra was still contained but barely, her magic leaking through the field in dangerous pulses.

"Freeze," Jeane commanded, voice sharp enough to cut. "Halie, stay right there and don't move an inch." Her crimson eyes fixed on the corridor ahead where multiple doors lined both walls—unknown threats behind each—and the flickering light from above only served to make everything look sinister. The binding's frequency had shifted again, climbing higher into a discordant range that made her teeth ache and her wings twitch involuntarily.

"This is exactly what I meant by 'stay together'!" she hissed under her breath, though the sound carried in the enclosed space. "We clear these doors as a unit or we don't clear them at all." The ornate door at the end of the corridor seemed to mock them with its closed promise of safety—or worse—and Jeane knew they didn't have time to check each one individually while Zha'thik gained on them. But splitting up was suicide when their own magic was actively trying to kill them from within.

"Hera," she called out, forcing her voice into something resembling command despite the exhaustion weighing down every word. "You take left side doors, I'll cover right. Halie stays between us as backup." The binding chose that moment to shriek again, louder this time, and Jeane gritted her teeth against the sensation of magic tearing at her insides. Just two more minutes, she thought desperately. Two more minutes and we can collapse this thing safely.