Tavin strained every muscle in his body just to keep from collapsing. Despite his every effort, the dome around him kept slowly shrinking, inch by inch. He could barely see, could barely breathe. Slowly, slowly—he was dying. Something in him knew it. Hanari’s laughter was practically ringing in his ears.
But he wouldn’t go down without a fight; Tavin was going to claim every last second he could.
Suddenly Aleanna let out a painful shriek, and the pressure lessened. Something sparked inside him, and he felt some strength returning. He didn’t know what cost Hanari would extract at the end of this, but he pushed harder. He gained a little space. It became a little easier to breathe.
“You b****!” Aleanna screamed.
He could feel Aleanna’s flames weaken a little more, their strength becoming erratic, less stable. He felt it—a spot that nearly broke through to the outside, and knew that this was his chance. He focused more of his flame into that spot, building on the pressure.