Forty seconds ago, she had been moving at Alpha speed through Shadowclaw's corridors, fast enough to blur, fast enough that the stone walls streaked past her like paint. Now she was standing in the middle of an empty parlor, perfectly still, tears running down her face, unable to move at all.
Serena found the parlor by instinct and desperation in equal measure. An empty sitting room off the eastern corridor of Shadowclaw, unused, quiet, far enough from the arena that the sounds of destruction had faded into stone and silence.
She pushed through the door and made it four steps inside before the composure she had been performing since the arena floor shattered completely.
Elara came through the door eight seconds later, breathing hard from the sprint, and found Serena standing in the center of the room with tears running down her face and a red rash climbing her neck.
