Both women turned their heads toward the approaching scouts, whose ashen faces told thousands of words without either Rosalia or Agnia needing to ask what they had witnessed.
Rainwater continued dripping from the men's hair and clothing, gathering beneath their boots as they stumbled across the crystal floor. Neither of them appeared wounded, yet their bodies trembled more violently than those of soldiers returning from battle.
"The Imperial Court Empire... they..." One of the scouts attempted to report, but his voice caught inside his throat as he looked between the two women.
His knees finally buckled beneath him.
The scout dropped heavily onto the floor, barely managing to catch himself with both hands before his face struck the crystal. His companion instinctively reached toward him, but the violent trembling of his own fingers made it clear that he was barely able to remain standing.
