POV: Nova
Orion moved before Nova could stop him.
He had been still for exactly as long as he could stand it which, for Orion, was never very long and the moment Morgessa lifted that vial and aimed its threat at his youngest brother, something in him made a decision that bypassed every other consideration. Nova felt it through the thread between them, the sharp spike of it, a whole second before he launched.
He hit Morgessa like a wall falling.
Two hundred pounds of silver-grey wolf, eight years of helplessness behind it, crossing the ballroom floor in three strides and connecting with the witch's center mass with everything he had. The vial flew from her fingers. The crowd scattered backward screaming. Morgessa went down and the ballroom floor cracked under the impact and for one blazing second Nova thought he did it, it's over, it's
Morgessa put her hand flat on the floor and the darkness detonated.
