THE MAD ALPHA
I continue, “it is layered. Not just on him. Around him. Every time his body tries to surface, the spell pushes him back down. Like water over a head.”
Silence stretches.
“So he cannot wake up,” she says.
“Not on his own,” I say. “Not while the source is intact.”
“And breaking it,” she says quietly, “does what?”
I hesitate.
Varek steps closer. “Kael.”
“It will not fade,” I say. “It will snap.”
Elara’s mouth curves into something sharp. “Violently.”
“Yes,” I say.
She exhales slowly and looks toward the road ahead like she is already moving again. “Then we keep going.”