"Stop!"
The word escapes Ivy's throat like a cry of anguish.
"Please — I'll go with you. Just stop."
The leader tilts his head, almost intrigued, almost amused. Then he shifts his weight and presses down, and the sound of Jackson's ribs breaking resembles green wood snapping in a storm.
Ivy feels her chest hurt too. This triggers the chain Bloom had dragged along for a long time. It breaks.
The power doesn't come slowly. It floods like a dam bursting all at once, and Ivy's vision becomes white. Then it changes to crystalline blue so pure that no human language can name it.
The men holding her arms scream before releasing their grip.
They stagger backward, clutching their chests, their palms blistered pink and black as if they had thrust them into open flames. One collapses to his kn
