"Look at me, my love. I'm here"
She met his eyes in silence. Alaric sighed and kissed her forehead.
Then he lifted her gently into his arms, his chest rising and falling with heavy, controlled breaths.
Salviana clutched at his blood-stained lapels, her voice a raw whisper against his neck. "The Eye!"
"That's not important right now," Alaric rasped, his red eyes scanning the lingering shadows for any remaining threat to her.
Salviana shook her head weakly but firmly, her jaw aching from the fall. "It is," she insisted, her fingers tightening on his shirt. "If he isn't stopped now, he's just going to attack us again."
"I heard you're looking for me," a deep, distorted voice suddenly echoed through the gloom.
From behind the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak, a large cloaked figure stepped into the light. Salviana took a sharp, jagged breath while Alaric ground his teeth so hard the muscle in his jaw flexed like a drawn bowstring.
