For a moment, he didn't feel it.
Then, the pain crashed into him.
It was white-hot, burning from the inside out, and his entire body locked up in shock.
He gasped, his sword slipping from his fingers as his body lurched.
The tentacle twisted inside him, and he could feel the sickening wetness of his own blood spilling onto the ground.
He coughed, something warm and thick rising in his throat.
Tobias was still screaming his name.
Bran had stopped moving.
Elisse…
Her hands were shaking even more now, her lips parted in horror.
Kara's eyes were wide, her usual sharp demeanor replaced with something he had never seen before—
Panic.
Zayn's vision blurred.
His knees buckled, and the tentacle withdrew, leaving a gaping wound in his stomach.
He swayed, barely managing to keep himself from collapsing completely.
He opened his mouth, then let out a strained chuckle.
"Heh…"
He coughed again, tasting iron.
"…I really am a fool."
Then, he fell.
"ZAYN!"
