Rosa Noctis twisted midair, snapping free of the vines with a shriek of metal and shadow. The air split with a blast of pressure that shattered the windows and cracked the marble beneath it.
Arielle stumbled back, blood trickling from her nose as her vines recoiled like they'd been scorched.
“Shit,” she hissed, clutching her head.
Nathan moved next—silent, precise. He melted into the shadow stretching along the wall, reappearing behind the sword in an instant. His fingers reached for the hilt, trying to phase it into the void with him.
Bad move.
The sword snapped backward, catching his arm with its edge. A shallow slice—but enough to knock him out of the shadows and send him crashing into the far wall.
Lisa flinched. “I hate that thing,” she muttered, eyes glowing faintly.
She raised her hands. Waves of pressure rolled through the room—emotion, heavy and charged. She tried to push calm into the blade. Tried to force submission.
For a second, the sword dipped.