[Arthur's POV]
The change was so seamless it made my stomach turn.
One moment, I was standing in front of the giant doors, my hand on my sword, ready for the blast of purple smoke. The next, the floor vanished from under my feet. The cold, silent dark didn't just fade, it was ripped away by blinding light.
"Leo?!" I called out, my voice cracking through the heavy silence. "Roan! Elisabeth!"
No one answered. I was alone.
The smell of burning wood and hot ash hit my nose, forcing a cough out of my throat.
My eyes snapped open, and I gasped, air rushing into my lungs like I'd been drowning, like someone had held me under and only now let me surface. My hand went to my chest automatically, feeling my heart hammering away too fast, too loud.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to breathe. In through my nose, hold it, out through my mouth. It was the rhythm I'd taught myself years ago when the nightmares first started, a desperate attempt to ground myself.
It didn't work.
