The text pulsed in the air like a living thing. Thankfully, Lyssandra could not sense it even with all her power. But every single enhancement… every new skill… they were gifts from her. And the price for this kind of gift… could I truly afford it?
"You like it? Can you feel the power coursing through your veins? That sweet power you could drown in if you simply followed me…" Her voice curled around me like smoke. "Ahh… Beatrice. You are playing hard to get."
She lifted her finger and ran her tongue along it with slow, suggestive delight. Then she pressed it against my lips. I turned my head sharply away, refusing to let her savor that reaction.
"Are we done here? I would like to go now…" My voice trembled only slightly, but not from fear anymore. I was buzzing with strength, fully recovered, overflowing with energy I had not felt in months.
A strange warmth had settled in my chest, resting beside the cold like a second heartbeat.
