Elias woke to violence.
The pounding on his door was relentless, and accompanied by a familiar voice. He groaned, peeling his face away from the pillow. His body felt heavy, the stabilization sessions with Cassian were starting to drain him deeper than he'd realized.
"Eli. Open the door."
Mina's voice.
The room was dim, the curtains still drawn.
For a wild, disoriented second, he thought it was still morning.
He pushed himself upright, rubbing his eyes. "You just left." he muttered hoarsely. "Why are you back? What happened?"
The pounding didn't stop.
"Elias Ceril," Mina said, voice tight, controlled. "If you do not open this door right now, I am going to kick it in. And then you'll really have something to explain."
That cut through the fog.
He stumbled to the door, his vision blurring. He slid the bolt back and squinted against the light of the hallway.
—and froze.
