[POV: Ruvan]
The shadows at the edges of the broken wall warped and twisted, and something stepped through.
At first glance, it almost looked human—long-limbed, draped in rags that moved strangely in the air. Its skin shimmered, translucent, as if someone had tried and failed to make a glass sculpture.
It had no eyes, no mouth, or any face at all. There was only a hollow darkness where the head should be. The fiend said nothing aloud, but distorted words poured into Ruvan's mind.
"Ours."
"She belongs below."
"Return her."
Ruvan's face contorted with disgust, and the godfire howled inside him, with the voices screaming to tear it apart.
He staggered one step forward instinctively, shielding Solenne with his body, his blood-soaked hands curling into claws.
"She's not yours," Ruvan growled again, louder this time. "She's mine."
The thing tilted its head—not in confusion, but in mockery, as it stretched out one long-fingered hand to beckon Solenne, slow and condescending.
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