I had never quite become used to pain, even after enduring so much. Every time it ripped the breath from my lungs, unique in how it seared and tore at my insides.

As I clutched my shoulder, feeling the heat of my own blood as it wept in between my fingers, its sweet scent spilled into the air. I ground my teeth together and steeled my spine, even though the dark spots dancing behind my eyes grew in size.

I could hear Asher’s muffled yet powerful voice, silencing the deafen