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It was weird how those black explosions could keep happening before her eyes when her eyes were shut. Scout was fairly certain that wasn’t a good sign. Her uninjured hand reached up to close over Shi Jian’s wrist, but there was nothing she could do to stop the choking.
She just hoped her dogs would be okay. Bo said he liked dogs. Surely he would look out for them.
The explosions were starting to overlap, to become one tumultuous inky sea she was sinking down into.
Then the hand was gone, and Scout could finally draw a breath. Not much of one—the swollen flesh of her throat was squeezing almost as tightly as the hand had done and her windpipe felt contracted down to the size of a drinking straw—but it was better than nothing.
Hands closed on her shoulders again, and she batted at th
