Aria.
I couldn't breathe properly.
I was running and breathing at the same time and neither was working the way it was supposed to.
My lungs were doing something wrong, pulling in air and not holding it, and my legs were moving but the corridor ahead of me kept seeming further away instead of closer.
"Aria." Eryx's hand closed around my arm briefly "Breathe."
"I am breathing."
"You're not."
I pressed on anyway.
The corridor that led to the lower quarters had never felt this long before.
Every turn looked the same and every door we passed that wasn't ours felt like a waste of seconds I didn't have and my mind was going to places I was trying very hard to pull it back from.
"Aria." Eryx again. Right behind me, matching my pace without effort. "I need you to hold it together."
"Don
