Evangeline didn't stay down. With a jagged, indrawn breath, she forced herself to stand. Her limbs were still heavy, a lingering numbness clinging to her muscles like invisible chains, but she shook it off with a terrifying, cold resolve. She stood tall, her spine as rigid as a blade, acting as if the collapse, the tears, and the haunting whispers had never happened.
"Silver," she said, her voice cutting through the smell of stale chemicals like a razor. "We're leaving. I have no desire to linger in a place where I am no longer welcome."
"As you command, Your Majesty," Silver replied. His voice was smooth again, the mask of the obedient shadow sliding back into place, though his eyes remained sharp, tracking her every movement for any sign of a stumble.
