Percival's POV
The heat wave crashed into me before I had time to react.
My barrier spell activated on pure survival instinct. The magic formed faster than thought itself. A wall of crackling energy wrapped around Julian and me just as the vial detonated.
White flames burst outward like a living thing. They struck my shield and the impact sent me stumbling backward. My boots scraped against the stone floor. The barrier lasted maybe three seconds before it cracked apart like shattered glass.
The explosion sent me flying.
I slammed into the ground hard. My shoulder absorbed most of the impact. Agony raced down my arm and up through my neck. The air got knocked from my lungs so fast it left me wheezing.
White fire cascaded across the laboratory table. It pooled on the floor and burned without any source or logic. The flames didn't move or flicker. They simply existed. Beautiful and horrifying and completely unnatural.
Then I heard Julian crying out.
