The guests nearest to her gasped and stumbled back. The music faltered. Someone screamed.
Jinx collapsed to her knees beside Fenris, vomiting more black blood onto the floor. Her body shook violently. Her eyes, wide with horror, looked up at him—and for just a moment, the emptiness was gone.
In its place was something he did not expect.
Calm.
Then she fell forward, face-first into the pool of her own blood, and did not move.
The elegant guests stood frozen, their wine glasses dripping onto the floor, their faces pale with horror. The media drones that had been hovering near the ceiling captured everything—Jinx collapsing, the black blood spreading across the marble, Fenris's dramatic cry for help.
