Grey detonated. She was on her knees in the dirt. There was blood in her mouth. There was blood in her mouth and she was not quite down because there was something there; something had caught her and held her as the screaming around them cut off sharply. Severin’s hands on hers, bruise-tight— There was nothing left. She was an empty vessel, lowered to the ground on her back. She stared up at the night sky for an immeasurable moment, choking on her own blood. She felt it in her stomach, the shift of power, the moment her mother died— Power in bravery.
