Everything seemed to have gone silent, as if even the dunes had stopped to witness what was to come next.
Raphaeline clutched Ada tighter to her chest, as if to protect her not only from the creature, but from the world itself. Her daughter's heart was still pounding, panting, and blood was seeping from open wounds. She carefully placed her on the ground, kneeling before her.
Raphaeline's eyes, red and glittering, dropped to Ada's legs. Tears, bruises, torn flesh. Her mother sighed, placing her hand over the wounds.
Blood stirred beneath the young woman's skin, responding to the command of her absolute master. Veins aligned, muscles closed, bones vibrated in harmony. In seconds, what seemed irreparable was being reassembled. It wasn't just healing: it was total mastery over the life pulsing through her daughter's body.
