The wolf crossed the distance in a heartbeat.
Ivor moved the instant the wolf lunged.
He dropped low instead of jumping back, throwing himself forward and under the rush of snapping jaws. Claws scraped the bench behind him, carving deep grooves into the wood where he had been sitting only a moment earlier.
As he passed beneath the wolf, he slashed upward.
The dagger tore across its stomach, ripping through fur and skin. Blood burst free, dark and hot, splashing across the floor as the wolf snarled and twisted in midair.
The cut wasn't deep enough to stop it.
But it hurt.
And it made the wolf land wrong.
The wolf howled and twisted, momentum carrying it past him in a wild skid.
Ivor didn't wait to see more.
He turned and ran.
He sprinted along the path his eyes had already traced minutes earlier, weaving between benches and overturned stools as the hall dissolved into shouting and chaos behind him. People scattered in every direction now.
The wolf recovered quickly.
Its steps were uneven now, just enough to register, but it didn't slow. It smashed through obstacles instead of avoiding them, claws cracking wood and stone alike as it barreled after him, breath coming in ragged snarls.
Ivor felt it gaining.
He reached the main exit just as a heavy boom shook the building.
Mana surged through the walls as reinforced doors dropped from above, sealing the passage in a solid slab of stone. The impact rattled his teeth. Dust fell from the ceiling.
Without hesitation he pivoted sharply and threw himself through a narrower door to the right, one he had seen staff use earlier. He slammed it shut behind him and threw his weight against it just as something heavy crashed into the other side.
The door buckled.
Once.
Twice.
The hinges screamed.
Ivor moved before it broke.
He grabbed the nearest chair and dragged it into position, angling himself beside the shelves rather than backing straight away. The dagger rested in his other hand, held low and ready. His eyes stayed on the door as the pressure behind them tightened, sharpening everything around him.
The room was small. Shelves lined the walls, crates stacked unevenly near the corners. Loose papers covered the floor. A single window sat high on the far wall, narrow, letting in a thin strip of pale light.
Too high for his height.
Even if he dragged a shelf or stacked a chair beneath it, there wasn't time. The door wouldn't last that long.
Just then, the frame split.
The door exploded inward.
Wood burst apart as the wolf smashed through shoulder-first, splinters flying across the room. It came in fast, head low, blood already darkening the fur along its leg.
Without any delay Ivor hurled the chair.
The wood struck the wolf square across the face, smashing into its snout and forcing its head to snap sideways. The impact didn't stop it, but it broke the rhythm of its charge.
That was all Ivor needed.
He lunged in.
The dagger flashed upward, aimed straight between the wolf's eyes, his body committing fully to the strike.
At the last instant, the wolf's head tilted.
By instinct.
The blade missed its mark and scraped along the side of its skull instead, tearing through fur and skin before grinding hard against bone.
The wolf screamed.
Blood spilled down the side of its face, dripping from its jaw as it reeled back and crashed into a shelf. Wood cracked under the impact. Papers burst into the air, swirling uselessly through the room.
Ivor didn't wait.
The strike hadn't killed it.
But it had hurt it.
And more importantly, it had bought him time.
Ivor turned toward the far wall.
The pressure behind his eyes surged again, sharper than before. His breathing slowed without effort, the noise around him dropping away until only the wolf's rough breathing and his own heartbeat remained.
He ran.
The distance gave him just enough room to build speed. The wolf followed immediately, claws scraping stone as it lunged after him.
Two steps from the wall, Ivor planted his foot hard against the stone and jumped toward the wall. He didn't try to climb it. He used it to change direction, kicking off and twisting his body sideways in the air.
The wolf leapt beneath him.
Claws grazed his leg as it passed, tearing fabric and skin. Pain flared, sharp and hot, but Ivor clenched his teeth and stayed focused.
For a brief moment, they rose together.
The wolf's head snapped up, jaws closing where his leg had been a heartbeat earlier.
Ivor brought his other foot down.
It struck the top of the wolf's skull with a solid thud, the impact jolting through his body. The bone held just long enough. He didn't hesitate. He pushed off immediately, using the wolf's upward force as a step.
The window rushed toward him.
Glass exploded.
He crashed through the window in a shower of shards, the reinforced pane finally giving way under the combined weight and momentum.
Then there was only air.
The world fell away.
Wind roared past his ears as the building dropped behind him, the light shifting violently as he tumbled. He twisted instinctively, trying to control the fall, but the ground rushed up too fast.
He hit hard.
The impact drove the air from his lungs in a harsh, broken gasp. Pain flared through his back and shoulder as he rolled across stone, glass cutting into his hands and forearms. He came to a stop on his side, vision swimming.
For a moment, he couldn't breathe.
Sounds returned in fragments. Shouts from above. The wolf's roar echoed from the broken window as it tried to follow, its bulk slamming against the frame before it was forced back, too large to fit through the narrow opening.
Ivor dragged in a shallow breath, then another.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows, teeth clenched against the pain, and forced his vision to steady. Blood soaked the back of his leg, warm and slick, but he could move. That was enough.
He didn't look back.
He staggered to his feet, clenched the dagger and moved, disappearing into the next narrow street as guards shouted orders behind him, the pressure behind his eyes still tight and focused, guiding him forward toward whatever came next.
Waiting was no longer an option.