The creature's bony fist was coming.
Everyone could see it, a grey blur of death aimed directly at Seraphina's frozen form.
They could feel its force, a wave of raw power that rippled through the air.
As it was about to connect, a thin, silver thread wrapped around Seraphina's waist and yanked.
She was pulled backward, out of the path of the punch, just as it smashed into the spot where she had been standing, shattering the stone road.
The thread, pushed to its limit, snapped with a faint sound.
Another thread immediately caught her, pulling her into a hard chest. She looked up into Azrael's cold, focused eyes.
He was standing between her and the monster now.
He pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the place where Elvara was. "Join her. This isn't your battle anymore."
"Are you thinking of fighting him?" she said, her voice a panicked whisper. "Please, don't. Just run away."
