Selma swallowed thickly, the sinking sensation of loss in her gut making it almost impossible to take a step back. But she did because he was giving her the gift of freedom, the only thing she’d ever wanted.

“Goodbye, Kain,” she whispered, turning from him before she could change her mind.

He didn’t respond, but she felt his dark eyes on her back as she walked toward the once-again invisible barrier. Though she couldn’t see it, the moment she stepped through it the magic washed over her skin like a light mist.

Her senses lit up as if someone’d dropped an extra dose of caffeine in her coffee, her brain hyper aware of every rustle of wind in the trees lining the narrow road and the smell of woodland filling her nostrils. Everything seemed… more, somehow, but softer at the same time. It was like the dome of magic was made of cotton, filtering every sensation with a gentle touch. Protecting whatever lay inside.

She couldn’t feel Kain’s gaze on her any longer, but when she looked over her shoulder, he was still there, staring at her with those haunting eyes.

Her abdomen clenched hard, and she gasped at the twisting agony low in her belly.

Loss. She’d known him so briefly, yet everything in her screamed to run back to him, to safety—

But this was safety, a literal sanctuary, and one he’d brought her to. There was no turning back, even if her chest tightened as she returned his gaze.

With a force of will, she turned back around to focus on the road ahead.

She made it twenty more steps before the pain in her abdomen returned, only this time it was hot knives shredding her from the inside out.

Agony blasted through her and she fell to the ground with a cry, clutching her stomach as her body violently spasmed.

A deep ringing like someone striking a massive church bell echoed through the sanctuary, making her bones vibrate, but she didn’t have the focus to care about its source.

Through the blinding waves of pain, only one clear thought thundered in her brain: It’s killing me. Whatever magic permeated this sanctuary, it was trying to force its way into her every cell, tearing at her like a vicious dog.

Kain.

Selma twitched on the ground, trying to force her limbs to drag her back to him, but she didn’t have the strength. She only managed to turn halfway over, but the effort let her see back where she’d come from.

Kain was there, his features marred with fury as his black magic struck the barrier separating them.

Another deep ringing echoed around her as he did, his lips forming one single word around a roar. Her name, she dimly realized—he was screaming her name.