"Time to end you, lady,"
Before Aria could react, he vanished from her sight. Her breath caught in her throat, confusion flickering across her features. Her heart raced as she spun around, searching for him, but it was too late. A sharp, searing pain exploded through her body as something cold and hard pierced her from behind.
Her golden eyes widened in shock. Blood sprayed from her mouth in a crimson arc, her body trembling as the pain overwhelmed her senses. She gasped, her breath ragged, her hands instinctively reaching toward the gaping wound in her abdomen. Her mind raced, disoriented, as the excruciating pain ripped through her being.
"MOTHER!!!"