Heartstring pulled under Elara's armor.
Heartstring had opened only partway, fighting Ravel as much as it helped him. Even so, the thread found the light beneath Elara's ribs and pulled hard enough to make Cubes stutter. Her knees bent under the strain. Cubes divided around her chest, with one half freezing the thread where it entered the armor and the other bracing the shard from behind. The defense slowed Heartstring without releasing it. Each pull still moved Elara a few inches, but Ravel had to lean his whole weight into the tether now. His damaged arm shook, and Necklace lost another segment from its orbit.
Ravel pushed himself higher, one arm hanging useless, blood running from his mouth onto the frozen gravel. Necklace tried to tighten its orbit behind him, but half the vertebrae moved late. The cold had gotten into the joints of the skill.
"Got you before you could bury me in ice."
Elias felt his hands clamp around the rail.
