Azriel The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was her face. It wasn’t real, I knew that, but as the thick, icy fluid from the syringe rushed through my veins, my mind fractured, and Seraphina flashed right in front of my eyes. She was crying, her lips moving as if she were screaming my name, but no sound came out. Then her image shattered. The harsh white lights of the lab blurred into a sickening smear, and the last thing my fading vision caught was Vane’s face. He was looking down at me, his mouth twisted into a mocking, triumphant grin. I failed. The thought dragged me down into a heavy darkness. *** When I finally woke up, my entire body was on fire. My head throbbed, and my throat was completely parched. I tried to lift my hands to rub my temples, but I couldn’t move

