They were all on the ground—immobilized, terrorized, utterly broken by death's merciless grip.
Survival was impossible.
Meredith lay frozen, her face bleached of color, her body locked in fear. Each breath scraped through her throat like shards of glass. Her lungs had tightened into knots, fighting for air that refused to come.
Auren was crushed beneath an invisible weight, a force like a mountain pressing him into the earth. He couldn't move, couldn't even lift his head. And then—agony. The Cursed creature's claws speared into his skull, tearing through flesh and bone.
Pain? No. That word was too gentle, too forgiving. This was hell—a raw, screaming torment that devoured his senses. For the first time, death didn't seem so cruel. Maybe it was cold, maybe it was ruthless—but at least it was quick.
