The moment the punch landed, the force of a thunderstorm crashed into my body, and I shrieked with pain as it burned me from the inside out, thrashing against the vision of Darius in my mind and the straps which held me to the chair in reality. My brain tried to keep hold of what was happening, what was real and what was a lie, but everything was blurring together as Vard used his powers until all of it merged into one and the cruelty in Darius’s eyes was the only thing I was truly certain of alongside the agony in my flesh.

