"No, there won't be some magic rabbit hole to take us all away again. It's going to be ... a lot less fun than taking a leap."
His gaze remained down at the floor as his hand reached up to easily catch hers thanks to reflexes honed from being in hell for ten years. He held her hand to his cheek as he took a deep, steadying breath. Her hand was warm. Full of life.
"The way we got here was because of this injection some people created. It's Serpent blood. When you were injected ... the blood and your Cordyceps infection ..." His hand pressed against hers more. "I tried Ellie. I even screamed out that spell like it would work if I just said it louder. I've never been more powerful in my life but it didn't work. I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. So I held you." He sniffed, wiping at his face with his free hand. "They had to pry me off. I think I kicked someone in the nuts as they did."