When they reached the elevator, Malick's spell evaporated, and with it went all of Katelina's strength. She leaned against the elevator wall to keep from falling. Every inch of her trembled. Warm tears ran down her face and she fought to pull herself together.

Malick hadn't physically touched her, still there was a similarity between the way she felt now and the way she'd felt after Claudius' stronghold. As with him, it was the mental invasion that was the worst. Malick had ...