Reichardt's consciousness was gone.
Why did we have to encounter those beasts on the way back?
Ahce's breathing came in ragged bursts as she dragged his limp, fevered body through the narrow tunnel, her arms trembling under his weight.
He did not even tell me that he was also infected at some point. But how did he bottle up the spread of the tainted blood in his genes?
The air was thick and metallic, and every echo of their movement reminded her just how deep underground they were. It took every ounce of her strength, and a few spells she could barely maintain, to keep them from collapsing halfway back to the duchy.
Reichardt wasn't unconscious when she first found him, but he was unstable. His eyes had flashed crimson, his breathing erratic, the sound of his heartbeat almost unnatural, like two hearts beating out of sync.
When his claws started to form, his veins lighting up with a sinister red hue, she knew she had only seconds before he lost himself completely.
