Valerie

Like a rope that had been held on for too long, something snapped .

My breath caught in my throat, blood rushing through my ears at the sight before me. Vaguely, I felt it. Even the people around felt it. For a moment, everything was still.

Alistair's hand, half transformed and clawed, was held suspended in the air in a tight grip.

It was a blur that even my instincts hadn't perceived. It took a while to recollect it.

Right as his claws were about to strike, despite his bleeding ...