The cavern air crackled with a tension that seemed to have weight, as though the very stones pressed down on the hearts of those within. Snow swirled lazily in shafts of pale light streaming through cracks in the fractured ceiling, falling across scales, sweat, and trembling flesh.
"Let me go, why won't you listen to me. Let go."
Kael's voice broke through the oppressive silence like shattering glass. He struggled so fiercely that beads of sweat formed not only on his forehead but also drenched his whole body, soaking his torn clothes until they clung to his skin. His breath came in sharp, uneven gasps as though he had been running for hours, though all he had done was fight against the grip of one man.
That wretched man—Shin—had seized him with merciless strength. No matter how Kael twisted, kicked, or shoved, Shane's ironclad hold did not falter.
