The warm air inside the First Vault vanished in a single second. The temperature plummeted so fast that a thin layer of white frost immediately began to crawl up the ancient stone walls.
The bright crimson fires burning in the iron braziers flickered wildly, turning a sick, oily black as they struggled against the sudden, suffocating cold.
Standing perfectly still in the open doorway of the melted iron doors was the terrifying, towering shape of Selene.
She was no longer the beautiful, elegant noblewoman who had tormented Elara at the academy.
The black nectar had completely consumed her human form. Her arms and legs were unnaturally stretched and elongated, making her stand much taller than a normal person.
Her pale, flawless skin was deeply cracked and broken, glowing with thick lines of bubbling black rot that smelled like burning copper and dead flowers.
