Ruelle felt pain seep into her skin and her bones, like frost spreading across a windowpane. It made everything heavy and her limbs refused to move.
She felt like she was stuck in a nightmare while the world had turned muffled, as though she were submerged in deep water. People were still screaming in panic even though the ground had stopped shaking.
Her hands were still pressed uselessly to Lachlan's head, where warm blood continued to coat her fingers. She could feel the heat leaving him, and yet she didn't dare move her fingers to his throat. As if her very sanity would crumble if she found him dead too.
Meanwhile, Peyton finally managed to emerge from beneath the pile of people who had fallen over her. Her head whipped left and right as she searched frantically for Ruelle and the others.
