Elena felt with absolute clarity that something terrible was about to happen if that blade came free entirely, so she tried to speak to Seraphine, her voice unsteady.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?"
No answer came. Seraphine didn't even turn to look at her, her eyes stayed fixed on the chained figure, and just as Elena was watching her, she noticed something, a golden glow had begun pulsing around Seraphine's body, faint at first, then growing steadily more intense.
She had no idea what was happening.
Meanwhile, the sword kept sliding free, and the exact instant the last edge of the blade left the flesh, half a second of silence fell over the entire chamber, everything motionless, everything mute, as if even the air itself had stopped moving.
Then the chained figure jerked awake all at once, and a tearing, almost monstrous roar burst from her throat.
