"Riona…"
She could have ended it right then. Her hand was poised mid-air, the fire burning hot in her palm, aimed straight for the demon's throat. One clean shot and it would have been over. The demon would have been scorched from the inside out.
But her hand faltered.
That voice.
Florian's voice, echoing through the darkness like a tether yanking her from the moment. She turned instinctively, breath catching at the sound of her name spoken by someone she thought she'd never hear again.
And that split second—that tiny fracture in her focus—was all it took. What could have ended the demon became her undoing.
The fireball in her hand flickered, lost heat. Her aim veered just enough to miss the kill. The shot went wide, glancing off the demon's face. A tooth shattered, but pain wasn't enough to stop it.
"Riona!!" Florian's voice again, louder this time—desperate.
She couldn't focus. Couldn't breathe.
