"Clear," Cerys muttered. She wiped a drop of sweat from her brow with the back of her glove. "But we can't stick around."
Vyrelda gave a curt nod. "Agreed. Let's find a direct route out. I'm picking up new signals from the spire's wards." She lifted her arm, revealing a small gadget shaped like a bracelet. Dull lights blinked along its rim. "They're sealing sections of the tower."
Cerys cursed under her breath. "Great. We need to beat the lockdown."
They slid down another hallway, hearts pounding. The environment shifted from thick cables and exposed machinery to a more polished sector with glossy floors and tall walls etched with geometric designs. Through narrow windows, they glimpsed the city lights outside: Luthadel shrouded by swirling mist, tinted red by the Spire's emergency glow.
But it was the shape looming beyond the skyline that made them pause.
