A tiny, flickering line of green light sparkled across her vision, the digital interface struggling against the heavy spatial runes in the walls.
[Three minutes until midnight, host,] Weiwei whispered, her electronic voice dropping into a tense, muffled frequency. [The internal guard energy signatures outside the corridor are starting to shift. The vanguard warriors from the outer gates are already moving up the grand staircase for the rotation. Captain Jarek is preparing to use his command token. Get ready to move the moment the lock releases.]
Lin Wan slid off the high bed, her bare feet touching the thick fur carpet without making a single sound. She moved toward the heavy ironwood doors, standing just two feet away from the thick wood.
She could feel her heart hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against her ribs, so loud that she was terrified the guards outside might hear it.
She looked down at her hands, taking a deep, slow breath to steady her lungs.
