She’d grabbed it without her gloves, and the goddamn oversized magical worm had bitten her, and Aziza had just clasped her hands tighter and squeezed like she meant to throttle it. She couldn’t, of course. Shadows didn’t suffocate. If she’d really wanted to hurt it, she would’ve pinned it to a tree with her silver pocketknife. But she didn’t, and did the shade have the decency to thank her for it? Of course not.
