Together, the group slipped out of the room and into the shadows, moving swiftly through the labyrinthine corridors of the building.
"We thought you were dead," Larry said, his voice shaky as he struggled to keep up with Scarlett. His chest heaved with every step, his exhaustion evident. "Austin was sure of it. He said there's no doubt you'd die."
Scarlett kept walking ahead, her invisibility spell cloaking the group as they moved through the dim corridors. Her silence was unnerving, and Larry's words hung in the air like a shadow of doubt.
"Ayra is back, but Austin still didn't let us go," Ethan muttered, clutching his chest where the dull ache of fatigue lingered. His voice cracked with a mixture of confusion and pain. "But something doesn't add up. We killed Ayra, we saw the monsters devour her. Every last piece of her was gone. So how is she back? I can't help but think she's part monster now…half human, half something else."
