Xaldreth kept staring at me for a long second, his abyssal eyes remaining utterly unreadable as the air between us crackled with a dry, static tension.
…Then he lashed out.
His entire hand slammed flat against my chest, fingers splayed wide where his single claw had been moments before.
The effect was instant.
A crushing pressure, far heavier than the one before, fell on me. The pain wasn't sharp this time, it was vast and overwhelming like the entire weight of a leaden sky had been lowered onto my ribcage.
My breath left me before I could do anything to catch it.
I doubted he was trying to kill me.
But I didn't doubt for a second that he was trying to put me in my place.
The cramping agony sank straight into my core, dragging something ancient and cold across my soul.
