"Hey! Burn it up like we're gonna burn it all down!"
The shrill ringtone tore through the haze of sleep, dragging Serein out of her restless slumber.
She groaned, fumbling blindly across the tangled sheets until her fingers closed around her phone. She pressed it against her ear
"Hello?"
"Is that you?"
Clara's voice carried through the receiver, taut with anxiety. A question without preface, yet the moment Serein heard it, she understood what Clara meant.
"You really are my best friend, recognizing me that quickly." Serein muttered with a weary smile, pushing herself upright.
"You still have the mood to joke at a time like this?" Clara snapped, her tone bristling with frustration at Serein's indifference.
A hollow laugh rattled out of Serein's dry throat, brittle with both exhaustion and resignation. "Then what do you want me to do, Clar?"
"If you are exposed, you only have two choices." Clara's sigh was heavy, the kind that sagged with helplessness. "CBAA or Eclipse."
