Thaddeus gasped for air, his hands pressed against Serana's chest, feeling the faint, irregular flutter beneath his palms.
"Just breathe," he whispered desperately. "Please, just breathe—"
The space around them was vast. Endless.
A realm of crimson sky that stretched to impossible horizons, illuminated by red lightning that arced between floating mountains of black stone.
The ground beneath them was solid but felt insubstantial, like standing on compressed cloud that might dissolve at any moment.
This was where the shattered artifact had brought them.
Serana didn't respond. Her black eyes remained closed. Her chest barely moved. T
She hadn't died yet. But she was dying.
Thaddeus's eyes burned with tears that finally fell freely. His hands trembled as they pressed against her wound, trying futilely to stem bleeding that wouldn't stop.
Not her too. Please, not her too—
"A vampire summoning me? How unusual."
Thaddeus's head snapped up, and he saw.
