I

passion of her own. The moment seemed endless, ageless, a wave that welled through her, then out in a cry of release and joy, an impossible blend of pain and pleasure. Er'ril met her cry with his own, thunder in her ears.

At that exact moment, a crack of lightning had shattered the world. Blinding light pierced through the small window, a lance of brilliance that cast everything in silver. Elena's eyes had been closed at that moment, but somehow she saw everything in that burst of light: Er'ril poised over her, his face frozen in silver, his mouth open in a grimace of surprise and joy, his brow bunched with the same impossible mix of sensation.

And in that moment of brilliance, the world had shattered away around her. For a heartbeat, she was again lost in the silvery web of all living things. Her mind and body blew outward as she gasped in Er'ril's arms. She heard a thousand voices, experienced all the sensations that the world entertained, saw sights from a million facets too many to comprehend, but each as clear as a crystal bell. And in the center of the endless web, she sensed an immense presence turn slowly toward her. Cho had once warned her to stay away from this immensity. But now, riding on the waves of her own passion, she was both blown outward and drawn inward at the same time.

There seemed no escape.

Then the lightning across the sky shattered away, dying in an explosion of thunder that shook the very keel of the ship. Elena fell back into her body, back into her bed, back into Er'ril's arms.

As Er'ril was released, too, he fell atop her, kissing her back to reality, Elena had been too stunned to speak of the moment. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She had been a breath away from being lost, destroyed in the very moment of their shared love.

Er'ril mistook her tears, kissing her as any lover might. I love you, he had whispered in her ear.

But the thousand voices of the web still echoed in her head, drowning out his words. She pulled him down to her. Hold me, she had whispered. Don't let go of me.

He did just that, encircling her with his arms, wrapping her in his strong legs. She lay with him, breathing in the musky scent of his cooling skin, bathed in his breaths as they receded into a light slumber.

Now, alone with her thoughts and worries, she closed her eyes against the approach of morning as the ship rocked under her. Long ago, her journey had been heralded by the blood of her first menstra. She sensed

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now, with the shedding of her virginal blood, that the end was near. The circle complete. First bleed to first blood'

Elena lay in Er'ril's arms. With limbs tangled, the heat of their bodies blurred where one began and the other ended. Still, Elena had never felt more alone. The end of all neared, and according to Sisa'kofa, she would face it alone. But what would be the ultimate fate?

From blood to blood' where will it all end?