Shit!
The word slipped out before I could even think. My throat felt raw, like I'd been holding my breath for hours, and maybe I had. The air inside this barrier was thick enough to choke on—blood, dust, and something sharper, like burned ozone clinging to the back of my tongue. Every breath I took hurt, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't look away.
The goddess hovered in the air, pale hair whipping in the heat waves rolling off the Minotaur's massive frame. Her glow was still there, silver and sharp, but it wasn't steady anymore. It flickered, faint tremors running through it the same way her shoulders trembled with every breath. She wasn't untouched. Not anymore. The blood on her lip glistened like a stain she couldn't erase, and even from here I could see how tightly her jaw was clenched to hide the strain.
