Viran heaved a sigh as he unfastened his cloak with his left hand. His false hand fell to the carpeted floor as he dropped the air spell he maintained to control it. The cloak fluttered down beside it as he kicked off his boots. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to escape the ever-mounting pressure in his chest that was slowly driving him mad.
He had just tossed his shirt aside when he heard it: a soft tap-tap-tap. Suddenly he was alert, staring wide-eyed into the shadowed corners of the room. His gaze roved over the chaise by the fireplace, a table and two chairs, and a firelamp stand before coming to rest on the windowed door to his small balcony. Something was out there.
Embracing his source once more, Viran prepared a defensive spell and approached. A figure crouched outside, a figure wi
