Unnoticed by either of them, the spectral hyena still stood in the room behind Kaelith.
As Mirabelle pierced his skin, cracks of golden light spread across its form.
They raced through the beast's body like lightning beneath glass.
A heartbeat later, the entire figure broke apart into countless glowing fragments that drifted through the air like stars.
For the briefest moment, the room glittered with golden light.
Had Mirabelle not been completely consumed by the hyena before her, she might have noticed.
Instead, all of her attention remained fixed on the male under her fangs.
She tasted blood. But there was more than iron. It was as though sunbeams danced across her tongue.
Kaelith jerked beneath her iron grip.
She barely noticed.
Because before her stretched a vast savanna.
She could feel the sun on her skin.
Golden grass rolled endlessly beneath a brilliant blue sky.
