Page 39 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“Kai!” I yell. “What does that mean?”

Only his profile is visible as he speaks. “The shield inhibits all your spiritual energy and as such, it will also slow down your healing. It is to your best advantage to leave Anthropa, dangerous as it is now.”

“W-what?”

“Go home, sister. You’ve created enough trouble as it is.”

And with that, he disappears.

“Kai! Kai!” I call after him, but it’s in vain.

He’s gone.

And I’m…powerless.

I rush out of the building and immediately the darkness hits me in the face. I…can’t see.

I swallow hard, an array of emotions grabbing me by the throat and threatening to make me ill.

Taking one step forward, I’m hit with an astounding fear.

I can’t see.

I don’t know what’s out there.

I don’t know where I am.

I don’t have…anything.

“Kai? Please don’t leave me here,” I whisper. A sob escapes me as I wildly look around but am unable to see anything.

A few more grueling steps and I stop again.

My breathing intensifies and a hole slowly forms in my chest. My pulse is through the roof as fear overtakes me.

So this is what it’s like to be powerless. To be…human.

It’s to not know where you’re going, to not see where your next step might lead you—to know that maybe one wrong turn could prove deadly. And now I could very well die.

Kai said my healing would be slower, too. That means I could get injured. I could get seriously hurt.

And I cannot defend myself.

“Kai? Please,” I continue.

A shiver goes down my body, and for the first time in my life, I feel the cold chill of the night.

I am…cold.

I, a goddess of ice, feel cold.

I drop to my knees, struggling for breath.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, rubbing my hands together. “Please, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please don’t leave me here. Please…”

No one answers back.

Not even my echo.

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