How can you remain, Staring at the rain, Maddened by the stars?
Azure looked at Nikolai as if he'd just grown a second head. It was unclear whether this was because of her double vision, or the fact that the man who had deprived her of her life essence less than a minute ago was now giving her flimsy, panicked justifications for the deed.
Was she about to see an Ascended cry? Such a rare event and she wasn't well enough to appreciate it. The smell of blood was inescapable, making her sicker with every inhale. She glanced at the ground where her hand touched the sticky auburn ground. When she tried to speak, the words stuck low in her throat, coming out as an incomprehensible mutter.
Azure was wiry, skinny and resilient, trained in endurance by the Halovian winter. But when half of her blood was gone all that turned to naught. She felt her strength fade and became suddenly aware of the extent of her helplessness and the unlikely thread that stood between her and the dark that encroached from the corners of her vision. The expression of anger gave way to pleading.
She thought, I'll get through this, and the blurry image that had been dancing before her eyes, a warm fire glow across the face of the remorseful Ascended, faded to black. She lost consciousness seconds later, wondering why she could hardly feel the warmth of the fire.
Azure
