Maria.
I hurried toward Beta Torin, my steps quick and purposeful, my head already bowing as I approached him. Respect came automatically, engrained, instinctive. I lowered my gaze, muttered a greeting I barely felt, and then moved past him, intent on heading straight for the gate.
I just needed to leave.
I needed distance.
I needed air.
But I had barely taken a few steps when everything happened at once.
In a flash, so fast I didn't even register the movement, Beta Torin stepped forward. His presence shifted behind me, sudden and commanding, and before my body could react, his palm struck my back.
Hard.
The impact exploded through my spine with brutal force. I felt something shift, felt my breath tear out of my lungs as pain ripped through me. My knees buckled, and I lurched forward, a sharp, metallic taste flooding my mouth. I barely had time to gasp before I spat blood onto the ground.
The world tilted.
