Chapter 350

• We crashed into the earth in a tangle of limbs, her gurgling breaths filling the tense silence between us. Luckily, we landed on the soft grass tucked between two homes.
• Fueled by the adrenaline surging through me—and the awareness of how close death was—I scrambled away from Marinella. Her claws, unnervingly long and razor-sharp like needles, fell limp as they slipped from my torn flesh.
• Her transformation was horrifyingly swift. The pale sheen of her skin became transparent, cracking as though it were brittle glass. Before my eyes, it peeled away, crumbling into a fine dust that scattered in the gentle breeze. In mere moments, she was gone. All that remained was the blade I’d buried in her chest. It shimmered faintly as it stood upright, humming softly as though it were alive, still tethered to the source.