"Who… are... you?" Chyrsha took the first deep breath in months, her lungs free from the liquid they had drowned in until a moment ago.
"I'm Supreme Magus Verhen." Lith shapeshifted his helm away and opened his five extra eyes to prove his identity. "Rolam is okay now. I've sent him outside and many healers are taking care of him. You have nothing to worry about.
"I'll have you-" Lith broke the straps binding Chyrsha's arms and she put a hand on his mouth.
"Thank you." She gasped, clenching her teeth in a desperate effort. "Please, tell him-"
The last spark of blood-red mana in Chyrsha's core died out and so did she. Her head fell and her body slumped forward.
Chyrsha of Zeska died of relief in Lith's arms.
Her tortured body had long outlived itself and kept going on thanks to sheer willpower.
