Rainie's sudden awakening snapped everyone's attention to her at once. Even Blackfin froze mid-step, his body stiffening as if some unseen pressure had locked his joints in place.
Because the woman who opened her eyes was not the Rainie they knew.
As her eyelids lifted, a flash of violet light flooded the icehouse, sharp and unnatural against the frozen walls. A deep amethyst glow pulsed within her irises, cold and ancient. Her body, still lying flat on the ground, rose upright without so much as a twitch of effort, as though gravity itself had decided it no longer applied to her.
Once she stood, she reached back and rubbed the spot on her neck where Blackie had struck her earlier, more annoyed than hurt. Then she lifted her head and slowly swept her gaze across the room. There was no panic in her eyes, no confusion, only an absolute, disdainful sovereignty that made everyone's spine tighten.
Her eyes paused on Blackie.
