He was gone so suddenly it almost felt like a hallucination, and the atmosphere seemed to lose its tension the moment he disappeared.
Lucrezia let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as her entire body sagged, too weak to even brace her fall properly. The adrenaline that had been forcing her upright drained away all at once, and pain rushed back in its place.
The cold bit through her torn gown at once, but even that felt almost distant now. Everything did.
"Ah!" Every muscle screamed, locking in place. Her head throbbed, and her chest burned as every breath became a struggle. And beneath it all lingered the memory of that power that felt alive and waiting.
Her eyes dropped once more to her hands.
Even now, faint threads of warmth pulsed beneath her skin. It didn't seem entirely gone.
