I had no time to think.
The moment Venus moved, the kindness in his face vanished.
His hand sliced through the air, and the force behind it wasn't human, it wasn't even fair.
I could barely lift my hands, my reaction speed far lower than him as I tried to shield myself, his clash slamming into me like a speeding train.
The impact sent me flying.
I hit the stone wall of the vault entrance so hard that the air ripped out of my lungs.
My back screamed with pain, and I slid down to the floor, coughing, trembling and barely holding myself together.
My body felt heavier than before, bones too sharp under my own skin.
Venus's shadow fell over me, and for a moment, I thought this was it, this was how I would die.
But something deep inside me screamed louder than the pain.
I didn't want to die.
Not like this.
Not when I hadn't even told him...told Noah, what I really felt, what I really was.
