The Price of Protection

Silence.

The air felt heavier, as though every breath was drawing from oxygen that was slowly running out.

Isolde flinched. Her breath caught for a moment, then released in a slow, unsteady exhale. Her face had gone pale, her eyes still red and swollen from the crying she had done on the 25th floor.

Her left hand trembled so badly that she had to grip Dante's arm to keep herself upright. Dante sto