"You're done chatting."
Lou and Emris spun around immediately, alerted by the presence behind them... only to find Lucien smiling, a calm and dangerous smile.
Emris reacted first. He slammed his fist into the ground and raised a thick barrier of earth as he backed up several meters, trying to gain distance.
But he had barely taken two steps when a red flash crossed his vision. He felt it more than he saw it: a cut, a ripple in the air, a rapid heartbeat that wasn't his.
A moment later, the pain came.
"Ugh..." Emris fell to his knees, spitting out saliva and blood, the air knocked out of his lungs. His mind tried to comprehend what had happened, but he hadn't seen anything.
Lucien moved too fast. It was as if the attack had occurred between heartbeats.
