Caught in the sudden, unexpected intimacy of Asher's body pressed against hers, Isola's thoughts raced, a whirlwind of anger and disbelief.
Just as she was beginning to think he was not vulgar like the other nobles, was he now trying to take advantage of her?
Her eyes flared with fierce determination as she was prepared to shove him off. But just as she was about to act, something within her stilled. His breath, shallow and uneven, tickled her neck, his body lay heavy and unresponsive against hers.
This wasn't the lecherous advance she had thought; Asher was unconscious, his body alarmingly weak and limp.
And she immediately understood why. Just like what happened to her, the Mother Kraken had not only siphoned his lifeforce but his bloodforce as well.