Kaelen grabbed Elara's hand, his grip firm and desperate. Behind them, the cavern entrance exploded in a shower of sparks and stone. The Council's mages had arrived.
"Jump!" Kaelen commanded.
Without thinking, Elara threw herself into the abyss. For a second, the stomach-churning sensation of falling took over. But then, the Great Crystal embedded in her palm flared with a blinding gold light. The air beneath them seemed to thicken, turning into a soft cushion of energy. Instead of crashing, they drifted downward like autumn leaves.
They landed hard in the thick undergrowth of the forest below. Kaelen groaned, clutching his side where blood began to soak through his cloak. "We... we made it," he wheezed, looking back up at the mountain where torches flickered like angry stars. "But they won't stop. They will hunt us until the sun rises, and beyond."