In the darkness of Nyrielle's bed chamber, the Harbinger of Death's eyes fluttered open as she drew a deep, cleansing breath before exhaling the last of the cold, dead air that lay in her lungs during the day.
Next to her, Ashlynn started to move as well, stretching out her arms and legs like a cat waking from a nap in the sun. Her hair hung in knotted clumps and the ache of exhaustion clung to her body after the previous night's exertions, but at the moment, in the few breaths between asleep and awake, everything felt distant and fuzzy. It was as if the world beyond the bed she shared with Nyrielle was only a dream and this dark place was all that was real in the world.
"I'm sorry, my darling," Nyrielle said as her midnight eyes blazed in the darkness, casting a faint blueish light across the luxurious bedchamber. A heartbeat later, Ashlynn's eyes glowed a matching midnight blue as Nyrielle withdrew her power from her lover's mind.
