Vix wrenched her fingers free of the orb, recoiling from it as she would from an enormous serpent. She tripped over her own feet and fell hard, flat on her back. Vix lay there, stunned, her body numb with shock.

If allowed, she would have stayed there for hours. But then Caine came rushing to her side. His face swam into view, blocking the starry ceiling above, white and scared.

“Vix? Vix? Ancestors, Vix, say something, please!”

Vix blinked and managed to unstick her ...