The first thing I felt was the drain of power slipping from my fingertips, leaving me hollow. The faint glow under my palm flickered once, twice, and then extinguished. Elenora’s breathing steadied, but her body remained still.
“She’s alive,” Belle whispered, her voice trembling with relief.
Alive, but barely.
Elenora’s veins still pulsed faintly with that strange purple hue, her chest rising and falling like a fragile thread tethering her to this world. Belle, her energy spent, collapsed beside her, tears streaking her face. She looked as pale as the dawn.
“Move.”
Jade’s voice startled us all. He crouched down beside Belle, his usual smirk replaced by something softer, almost reverent. He rested a hand on Belle’s shoulder. “Let me take it from here.”
Belle hesitated, staring at him
