-Spurt!!
Time seemed to slow as the blade punched into my chest.
Cold metal split bone. The impact tore the breath out of me and a hot flood of blood burst from my mouth. My head jerked down in disbelief, then lifted with effort.
Kleines stood there, arm extended, face carved in ice, his eyes flat.
"You've done enough destruction to my birthplace, monster," he said, voice as cold as his gaze.
My hand moved on instinct.
I grabbed his wrist, fingers digging into the one clutching the hilt of the knife—white, ceremonial, delicate in shape, utterly wrong buried in my chest. For a second, I thought I could force it back out.
Kleines twisted it deeper.
"...!"
My breath caught in my throat. My eyes went wide.
It wasn't just pain.
Something inside me tore.
The white blade began to glow, faint at first, then brighter. Golden runes engraved along its length flickered to life, one by one, until the whole knife pulsed with light.
