The Screaming Shard's essence flooded Kane's nervous system, each pulse threatening to tear his spirit core apart.
His vision blurred, the laboratory walls warping as reality bent around him.
Instead of the merciful darkness of unconsciousness, Kane felt himself falling inward, tumbling through layers of suppressed memory until he landed in a place he'd tried to forget.
The autumn grove materialized around him, golden leaves dancing on crisp air.
Silver fox kits played beneath ancient maple trees, their multiple tails fanning out like silk banners.
Eight of them moved with fluid grace, their three, four, even five tails marking them as prodigies among their kind.
And then there was Kane.
The smallest kit sat apart from the others, his single white tail tucked tight against his body. Even in memory, shame burned hot in his chest.
"Look at the runt," his eldest brother sneered, amber eyes glinting with cruel amusement.
"Still only one tail at his age."
