My boots slid a few more inches across the hard, frozen stone as the dark spots in my vision slowly started to clear. The heavy, dead silence of this big yard pressed down on my ears, replacing the loud ringing of the balcony we had just escaped.
I threw my head back against the jagged rock wall we had slid against, huffing violently as the first proper breath of air filled into my lungs. My chest burned like I was swallowing hot glass.
The mental strain from that blind space jump felt like a needle driving through my skull, making my vision dance with a dull, throbbing pain.
I blinked through the haze and turned my head to look beside me.
"Malva," I said, my voice rough and cracking. "...You okay?"
She was leaning hard against the frozen stone next to me, her breathing just as ragged and shallow. Her uniform was torn, smudged with dirt and frost. Being only Elite Low, she looked completely spent after hours of burning through her small mana pool.
