Page 219 of Eternal Ruin
“There are people inside!” she roared, making every head turn toward her. “Hurry!”
One Sicion reached her quickly, face dark. “Are you all right?”
“Inside! People are alive inside!”
“We need to get you aid,” he said, pulling her away.
“I’m fine!” she shouted. “What are you doing? There are people inside!”
Another Sicion lifted her up and pushed her into the crowd, not listening. She kicked violently.
“Why aren’t you—”
An earsplitting explosion swallowed her words.
Her knees were on the ground although she didn’t recall falling. Students buried their heads in their hands, screaming too. Kidan stumbled to her feet, her balance wavering to one side before she crashed backward. There was a furious tornado before her, threatening to suck her in, and it took a long time to settle.
Grand Andromeda Hall came into view in a hazy dust storm.
And what was left of it was in…
Ruins.
Not one lion statue remained.
“No.”The broken word was the only thing left inside her.“No.”
A devastated gray world remained, the dome entirely collapsed, held up by one remaining pillar, which crumbled with a sudden violent snap.
The crowd screamed again.
Kidan pushed forward, half dragging the onlookers, half using them to give her support because her legs were too weak. She fell again, now at front of the crowd, staring up at the ruins.
Her voice was unrecognizable, tattered like her clothes, but it was hers, because only she knew who was trapped inside. “Did she get out?”
Faces zoomed close to hers, shrugging her off with terrified looks. She wanted to see one familiar face, anyone.
Yos.
Where was he?
GK.
I need you both. I need you!
Sacro was there instead, laying a hand on her back. “Kidan?”
“Did she get out? Please, did she get out?” Kidan demanded, tears making everything blur.
He stilled. “Where?”
The agony on her face made him shoot to his feet. “At the back of the building. Slen—”
He disappeared into air. Kidan ran after him, ignoring the protests of her bones. It didn’t matter if she was bleeding. She needed to get to them.
Please, be alive.
When she got there, Sacro was standing still.
