Nate moved.
Lightning flickered in his veins as his foot slammed forward, and in an instant, he dashed toward the altar, his speed tearing through the thick air of the chamber. The world blurred, the kings, the guards, the stone-carved walls—they all faded into streaks of motion. His only focus was the raised stake in the king's hand, the sharp tip gleaming with the blood of fallen beasts, descending toward Sera's chest.
Then—
A black portal split open behind him.
Faster than thought, faster than even his instincts could react—
Something reached through.
A ghastly hand.
Clawed fingers, elongated and warped, wrapped in black mist that flickered with jagged streaks of lightning. It latched onto his throat.
And then—
It pulled him in.
Nate had never felt such overwhelming powerlessness.
One second, he was rushing forward, his mind set, his body ready to intercept the strike—
And the next, he was being dragged into a realm that defied all understanding.
Darkness.
