Bel placed his hand gently against Sienna's forehead.
The moment his skin met hers, the familiar flash returned, but this time, he didn't pull away.
He held, and the world began to change.
A single pulse of violet light shimmered across her skin like the ripple of a drop in calm water.
The space around them shimmered faintly, then fractured. A thin line of black lightning crackled from her forehead and split the air, like ink cracking porcelain.
It arced outward, dancing above the wildflowers and knights frozen in place.
Then came the second flash.
This one burst like a firework: brilliant, blinding. It exploded in perfect silence, a blossom of violet and black that rippled through the atmosphere.
The air distorted, light bent, and the space seemed to fold inward on itself.
The wind didn't move. The flowers didn't sway. The birds above were painted still in the air.
But the destruction had begun.
