Nina stood in the dark hallway long after the voices faded.
The silence pressed close, thick and unmoving. Torchlight trembled along the stone walls, shadows shifting slowly as though watching her hesitate.
Her hands folded into themselves, fingers tightening, loosening, tightening again.
She turned abruptly and walked away.
The air changed the moment she climbed back toward the upper grounds. Cooler. Easier to breathe. Still, her lungs refused to work properly until she stepped fully into the open corridor.
Only then did she exhale.
The breath left her in a rush she hadn't realized she was holding.
Less than one hundred and eighty days.
The number settled heavily in her chest.
Her jaw tightened. She stood there a moment longer, staring ahead without seeing anything, thoughts racing faster than she could catch them.
What happens after she finds the Vothraki?
The question rose again.
She pushed it down immediately.
Every answer ended the same way.
