The light swallowed everything. Sounds, contours, even the ground beneath her feet. Lina stood amid a vibrating expanse of gold and shadow, and somewhere within it, something breathed.
Malrik.
He stepped out of the mist like a memory reshaping itself. His face was almost human—too calm, too flawless. Eyes like mirrors that reflected not her, but entire distorted worlds.
"I warned you," he said softly, almost kindly. His voice wasn't a sound, but a pressure in the head. "If you open the Heart, it will devour you."
"I'm not here to be devoured."
"No?" He smiled. "Then why are you trembling?"
Lina clenched her fists. "Because I'm alive."
The smile vanished. For a moment he actually looked hurt, almost disappointed. "Life. A word you so readily confuse with possession. Do you believe that what allows you to breathe belongs to you?"
"Yes," she said. "Because I'm taking it back."
