CW: mentions of blood and non-graphic descriptions of injuries

Namaari sat with her back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling of the building she had been locked in. She was being held on the southern edge of the village, in a building so small that it had likely served as storage space rather than a home. The room was bare and Namaari's sweat-soaked clothes had absorbed the cold from the stone wall against her back, leaving her shivering. She could hear the sounds of laughter and conversation outside, accompanied by the crackling of a fire and the clink of glasses. Sounds of celebration.

She swallowed thickly, trying to push down the lump building in her throat, the light of her magic flickering weakly around her. Her gaze wandered to the small crack in the bamboo roof that let her see a sliver of the starry sky above. After a moment, she let out a long sigh, closing her eyes as more tears slipped down her cheeks.

Something clattered against the stone wall to her left and she jumped, her magic flashing rapidly. A few seconds later, the sound happened again. Namaari turned so her back was facing the source of the noise. She gritted her teeth, her shoulders tensing when a third and fourth sound came from behind her.

"Leave me alone!" Namaari shouted. Then her shoulders slumped, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "You've done enough to me today."

"Namaari!" came a hoarse whisper from the far wall. "Namaari, it's me, Raya."

Namaari scrambled to her feet and moved to the wall where the sounds had come from. She squinted in the darkness, searching for a gap that would let her see outside. There was a crack between two of the stones lower to the ground and she dropped to her knees to press her eye against it. Raya's hand was wedged through a small hole near the bottom of the wall of the building next to hers.

"Raya?" Namaari called as loudly as she dared.

"Namaari!" Raya's voice was muffled by the layers of stone between them, but the relief was still evident in her voice. "It took me forever to move those stones enough to get my hand through, but it finally worked. Are you okay?" She made an exasperated noise before Namaari could respond. "Sorry, that's not…obviously you're not okay. Are you hurt?"

"No." Namaari let out a shaky breath. "But I can't stop crying."

"I'm so sorry, dep la. I had no idea Atitāya would do something like this." There was a pause before Raya spoke again. "But neither of us is hurt and we have to find a way to escape. Do you see anything that we could use to get out of here?"

Namaari pushed away from the wall and glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a short piece of bamboo lying in the far corner. It looked like it had fallen from the roof but still looked sturdy enough. She rose and grabbed the stick before moving back to the wall. She wedged the bamboo into the small crack she had been using to talk to Raya, grunting as she tried to break away more of the stone. After a moment of effort, a final heave pulled away the stone on one side, creating a slightly larger hole. She paused, waiting to see if their captors had noticed the sound. When there was no reaction, Namaari knelt down again to examine the hole she had made. It was wide enough to stick her hand through now, but not much else.

"I was able to open this space a bit more," she said to Raya. "But it'll probably take until morning to make a hole big enough for me to fit through. And the bamboo I'm using will probably break before then."

Raya groaned in frustration. "We don't have that much time. We have to warn our parents about what Spirit is planning right away. And everyone here would notice us trying to escape if we took that long."

Namaari took a deep breath, willing herself not to give into the despair pooling in her chest. "Do you have any other ideas?"

It was silent for a moment as Raya considered their options. "I think our magic is unstable enough that we could make an explosion."

"But that might hurt us."

"I know. But there's no other way to escape. And we need to get back to our parents as soon as possible."

Namaari took a long, slow breath, watching the light of her magic flash against the stone wall. Then she nodded. "You're right. Let's try it."

She wriggled her arm through the hole in the wall, straining to reach Raya's extended hand. The rough stone bit into the skin of her shoulder but a second later, she felt Raya's fingers brush against her own.

There was a burst of blue light and Namaari was thrown backwards in a shower of broken stone. She heard a crack as she hit the far wall of the building, gasping as the breath was forced from her lungs. A sharp pain stabbed into her right side as she collapsed onto the ground. Doing her best to keep her breathing shallow, she struggled to her feet and staggered over to the large hole that the explosion had created. She stepped out of the building just as Raya emerged across from her.

They both looked toward the sound of shouts and pounding feet to see a dozen members of Spirit rushing toward them. Namaari reached for Raya without thinking and was blinded by another flash of blue light. This time the explosion sent her flying across the clearing behind the buildings. She rolled to a stop about ten feet away, unable to stop herself from yelling when she landed on her injured side. She curled into herself, looking down to see blood staining her shirt halfway down her ribs. Her head started to spin, and she closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe as evenly as she could. There were shouts and groans coming from the other side of the buildings, but she still heard someone stumbling through the grass. She opened her eyes in time to see Raya fall to her knees in front of her.

"Namaari," Raya gasped, patting Namaari's arm. "We have to get up. We have to keep going."

The light of their magic flashed weakly, but they were both too drained now to cause another explosion. Grinding her teeth, Namaari slowly got to her feet, leaning heavily on Raya. She was hit with another wave of dizziness as she stood, but the arm she had across Raya's shoulders kept her on her feet. They started toward the edge of the clearing, only making it a few feet before they heard the click of a crossbow loading behind them.

There wasn't time for Namaari to react before she heard the sound of a bolt hitting flesh and Raya cried out. Raya staggered to the side, pulling both of them to the ground. Namaari looked down to see a crossbow bolt protruding from Raya's thigh. She froze, unable to move as she watched blood seep into Raya's pants.

A few seconds later, Raya stood unsteadily, pulling Namaari with her as she limped toward the tree line. Namaari forced her legs to move, doing her best not to cry out when Raya's weight pulled at the wound in her side.

Another crossbow bolt thudded into a nearby tree as they reached the edge of the clearing. They quickened their steps as much as they could, passing through the tree line a few seconds later. Namaari kept her eyes down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. She wasn't sure how much time had passed or which direction they were headed, but after a few moments, she heard the sound of the river nearby.

Raya began to slow beside her and Namaari did her best to keep dragging them forward. Shouts and the sounds of people crashing through the underbrush came from behind them, giving Namaari a rush of adrenaline that carried them both forward. They broke through the trees once again and found themselves on top of a ten-foot cliff that overlooked the river. Raya staggered to a stop and fell to her knees, pulling Namaari down with her.

Namaari ducked out from under Raya's arm and turned so they were facing each other. "We have to keep going," Namaari said, bracing her hand against Raya's shoulder.

Raya shook her head, reaching up to cover Namaari's hand with her own. "You won't make it with me."

Namaari glanced toward the trees as the sounds of pursuit grew louder, then back at Raya. "I won't make it without you."

Raya shook her head again. "You have to warn our parents. You can't do that with me slowing you down."

Namaari's breathing quickened as panic rose in her chest. "No, Raya, I can't—"

"It's okay." Raya reached into her shirt and pulled out the dragon necklace before unclasping it from her neck. She took Namaari's hand and pressed the necklace into her palm. "It's okay, dep la," she said, smiling sadly as she closed Namaari's fingers around the pendant of the necklace. "I know you'll come back for me."

Raya grabbed Namaari's shoulders and shoved her as hard as she could toward the cliff's edge. Namaari scrabbled for a handhold but could do nothing to stop her fall. She tumbled down the cliff, hitting the rock several times before landing hard in the water. Before she could catch her breath, she was pulled under the water, spinning helplessly in the strong current. She fought to get back to the surface, her empty lungs aching for air.

Just as spots began to fill her vision, she broke through to the surface, coughing and flailing to stay afloat. She managed to grab hold of a log jammed against the wall of the canyon and clung to it with everything she had left. Searching the cliff's edge for a glimpse of Raya, she spotted her just in time to watch several members of Spirit drag her out of sight.

A sob worked its way up her throat, sending pain searing through her side. The log she was holding groaned onto her weight before splintering into pieces, leaving her at the mercy of the current once again as she was swept further downstream.