Lin Wan rested her back heavily against the headboard of the bed, her breath coming in slow, shallow hitches.
The internal energy that had been violently tearing through her body just moments ago had finally settled into a dull, throbbing ache, but the world outside was expanding into absolute madness.
She turned her head slightly, her gaze passing through the small square opening of the wooden window.
The twilight had vanished completely in the span of a few heartbeats. It was suddenly deep, suffocating night.
The sky above was a swirling abyss of angry, bruised purple clouds, so thick and low that they felt like a heavy ceiling pressing down on the canopy of the forest.
Through the gaps in the roaring wind, the terrified, panicked voices of the Orycto tribesmen echoed from the square below.
