Round 58

The building's wardstone pulsed again, a heavy thud vibrating through the penthouse floorboards like a beast's heartbeat. Hera clutched at Jeane's arm instinctively, her knuckles white as she fought against rising panic. The entire structure groaned around them, a sound like ancient timber complaining under strain no longer tolerable. "Jeane," she choked out, her voice barely above a whisper, "what is happening? Why is everything shaking?" Jeane's expression hardened, her crimson eyes flashing with impatience and something darker—arousal, perhaps, from Silra's earlier dominance display. She placed one hand over Hera's, trying to still the trembling fingers. "The wardstone answers our presence," she explained through gritted teeth. "It wants... it needs..." Her words trailed off as another pulse hit, stronger this time, making the chandelier overhead rattle faintly.

Silra approached the wardstone then, her movements quick and frantic. She began turning the artifact in her hands, muttering under her breath as she searched for some weakness or loophole. The building's groaning intensified immediately—structural whining now, not just creaking—and Jeane felt genuine alarm spike through her chest. Sixty seconds? That was optimistic. She glanced at Hera cowering nearby, then back to Silra. "Hera," the rogue called out, her voice strained with barely-contained panic, "if you want to live through this, come here. Don't worry about the stone—worry about the floor giving way under us."

"Come here," Jeane repeated softly, softer than she meant, which only annoyed her further. She grabbed Hera's wrist and pulled the cleric closer until they stood face-to-face. "You don't have to do anything," she said, her voice low and intense. "Just... stay close. The wardstone wants a show of trust and loyalty. It doesn't care about the specifics." Her free hand came up to cup Hera's cheek, thumb brushing across the skin there. The building groaned again, louder this time—something shifting in the walls—and Jeane felt a fresh spike of fear mixed with something else. This was going exactly as Silra had predicted, and that terrified her more than the collapsing structure.