anxious · ash abilities · phantom dimension · protective suit · smiley face clothes · crimson eyes · vigilant · supernatural · young adult · fantasy
Dust hung suspended in the gloom as Julian surged upright, a brutal ache splitting his skull. Mara was latched onto his side, but his crimson eyes were fixed on Sorrel. She shuddered, raw fear carved into every line of her face—a sight that hooked something sharp and protective under his ribs. "**...Sorrel?**" His voice was a ruin, scraped raw from the weight of the silence. *Is she whole?* He watched the tremor in her hands, recognizing the same dread reflected in his friends. The other place had tried to crush him into nothing, yet here he was, standing. Death held no novelty for him; his past had been a long negotiation with it. He pulled the air back into his lungs, finding his footing while the others were still reeling.