Sophia rocked back and forth, holding Sera close as if her embrace alone could stop the bleeding, could undo what had happened. The blood seeped through her fingers, warm and thick, and every second that passed made the hope inside her dim a little more. Her breath came in soft gasps, whispering broken words.
"You're not going to die, Sera. You're not."
Sera's fingers were wrapped weakly around her forearm, her grip growing lighter with every heartbeat. Her face was pale, lips trembling, eyes wet with pain and exhaustion. "Stay with me," Sophia begged again, her voice nearly breaking.
But then it changed.
A sudden wave of cold passed through the room—not the cold of wind or weather, but something deeper. Older. A chill that seemed to crawl inside the bones, prickling against the flesh. Sophia froze. Her breath caught.
The hairs along her arms and neck rose all at once. Her entire body tensed, heart thudding with a slow, deep beat that seemed not her own.
Sera felt it too.
