Nobody reacted in time.
It was too fast.
All they recalled when they realized what had happened was a shiver in the air, the ether itself unsettled, disturbed by something or someone, followed by a sudden breeze that brushed across their bodies, then came the sharp inhale.
But for Leandra, it was entirely different.
It struck her before she even realized what had happened.
A shock—sudden, alien, almost weightless that ripped through her middle, a hollow pressure that didn't feel like pain at first, only a strange emptiness spreading wide in her core. For an instant, she thought she'd simply lost her breath.
Finally, it came—sharp and merciless.
A searing lance of fire erupted in her toned abdomen, scorching nerves and unravelling every thought in her mind until there was nothing but the agony. She stumbled forward, but she was met with a broad chest that was as hard as rock.
Her knees weakened, forcing her to grip the dark ocean shirt as a support.
