The chains seared her flesh, slowly melting her bones from her body as though there were no limits to what these golden flames could consume.
Alister's expression did not waver. His voice came low, steady, resonant—like a god passing judgment.
"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps this is nothing more than a scrambled victory. Perhaps I do act all high and mighty, carrying myself as divine."
He smiled. Not kindly. Not cruelly. But with the certainty of one who had already stepped beyond the reach of fate.
"Perhaps," he said, "I do see myself as a being above existence."
The spears flared brighter. The chains constricted until the air around them shivered with heat. Eli'Erel screamed again, her voice breaking, wings thrashing violently as shadows splintered and withered away in the golden fire.
