The door closed with a sharp click, sealing us inside with him. The sound rang louder than it should have, final and cruel, like the slamming of a cell door. The air shifted the moment he stepped in, thickening, tightening around us like invisible chains. My lungs resisted pulling in air; every breath scraped like glass in my chest. He moved forward without pause, his boots striking the floor in a rhythm that echoed like the heartbeat of a predator.
Elara lay limp in my arms, her body still and fragile as porcelain. I barely had time to lower her onto the blanket before his shadow swept across us. He didn't stop. Didn't even glance down.
