Faye's POV
Have you ever experienced agony so profound it shows you what dying feels like?
That question echoed in my mind as the torment ripped through my chest. I struggled to draw breath and discovered it was futile.
For an instant, I questioned whether anyone had endured this and lived to tell about it.
The response came as fire and electricity. It started somewhere deep within my ribcage and spread outward like flames consuming me from within.
This wasn't one simple hurt but a cascade of strikes, each more vicious than the one before. My chest constricted as though steel cables had been wound around it. My skull felt empty, and everything narrowed into a corridor of blazing agony. Every muscle locked until they shook. I tasted metal, then nothing except parched lips and the bitter tang of blood coating the back of my tongue.
