Lyra's POV
The glass fragment glinted in the pale moonlight as Mia lifted it high above her head.
My body refused to obey me. I tried desperately to move, to run, but my legs felt like they had turned to stone. As if someone had filled my veins with lead and left me to sink into the earth.
"You should have stayed out of this," Mia hissed.
She struck downward.
I tumbled backwards, the cold ground slamming into my spine with enough force to steal every breath from my chest. Before I could even attempt to roll away or scramble to my feet, her weight crashed down on top of me.
The jagged shard plunged down.
One savage blow.
Then another.
A third time.
A fourth.
Each vicious strike sent fire racing across my back and between my shoulder blades. I felt the sharp edge slice through flesh. Felt it slip between my ribs. Felt it scrape against bone with a grinding sound that made bile rise in my throat.
I opened my mouth to scream but no sound emerged.
