• Cerene's Plight

Nero instantly rushed to her. "Cerene!"

He pulled her from the ground and placed on top his arms, terror in his eyes. "Cerene!"

Akemi hurried past Spheris and joined Nero on the floor.

"She's drying up again," Linne said, knelt beside them.

Spheris was still, frozen in fact. He stared down at Cerene's deteriorating body, his heart had sunk and his mind was swirling around in madness.

Cerene's skin was almost as pale as him, shadows had formed around her eyes and she was almost as thin as her bones. She coughed, consistently, and it was such a dry cough.

Every time she let it out, it seemed to cause so much pain, and Spheris writhed inside each time he heard it. However, he managed to sound somewhat reserved when he asked; "Who drank last from the flagon?"

"She did," Thorin replied. "She was drinking a lot throughout the night."

Spheris grimaced in thought. "Cerene would never forget to refill her flagons, especially now."