Nikolai dropped to his knees, countless bloody wounds hissing with a foul stench covering his body. Yet his black eyes locked onto the vampire without blinking. The beat of his three hearts slowed as he gathered energy to restore his organs.
Sand tore at the wounds and clung to his claws as he leaned forward.
His arms trembled, pierced through with half a dozen necrotic blades that pinned him to the ground like a specimen. Necrotic fluids chewed his flesh each second, bubbling across his shoulders, ribs and thighs. Black blood oozed, thick and sluggish, burning away only to reform again under the strain of his regeneration.
Killian tilted his head, mist swirling around his refined, youthful face. His mocking smirk never faltered. "Do you see now? This is the difference between us. You may have stepped through the gate, but you are still a child stumbling in the dark. You cannot hope to wield the powers of your lineage or understand your blood."
