"CECILIA!"
Arkai's heart didn't just drop, it plummeted through the floor of the helicopter, through the earth's crust and into some bottomless abyss.
One moment Cecilia was harnessed behind them, her eyes fixed on the vortex above. The next moment she was unclasping the harness and simply gone. Over the edge—
"It's fine, it's fine, focus—we need to stabilize—" Eastiel's voice was preternaturally calm, his hands steady on the controls even as his lion tail lashed under him.
The helicopter had shuddered from the sudden weight shift, but he corrected with a subtle adjustment of the collective pitch, his eyes never leaving the instruments. "She can still hear us, don't yell!"
"You—!" Arkai stopped himself, his claws digging into the armrests of the co-pilot seat. He had been about to scream, about to demand Eastiel turn the helicopter around and leap out after her himself.
