Jasmin's POV
The mist swirled around me like living smoke.
Then I heard it.
"Jasmin Shadowbane, you should have run."
Harris's voice cut through the fog.
He stood there grinning at me. Half his face hung in bloody strips, flesh dangling like torn fabric. Blood poured down his neck and chest in dark rivers. Yet he didn't stumble. His stance stayed rock solid. That twisted smile never faltered.
How was this possible?
How could he still be standing after ripping his own face apart?
How could he still be breathing, still smiling like that?
The sight of that mangled grin sent ice through my veins as he whispered again, louder now, "Run, Jasmin..."
When my name left his lips the second time, my mother's warning crashed through my mind like a broken church bell echoing in the darkness.
My body moved without thought.
