Althea looked down at her chest. There was no visible wound. Her bare skin, revealed through the tear in her clothing, showed no trace of blood. Her lips parted as her fingers brushed against her left breast, but no words came out.
There was only the sound of her ragged, shallow breaths.
To Althea, the pain was as if a blazing fire had been driven into her heart.
Her eyes narrowed, and she exhaled another cloud of black smoke. But as it surged toward Kai, his large hand sliced through it, unaffected. Without hesitation, he reached out, his fingers wrapping around her long, delicate neck with a crushing grip.
Althea let out a blood-curdling scream. Her power flared once more, a desperate, chaotic burst of energy. Yet this time, the smoke was sluggish, its colors shifting and dulling as if drained of life. Slowly, it began to fade, dissolving into nothingness.
"Lorelai!"
