Right after Liam spoke, Mourne didn't even have time to process the words—before he could blink, a thunderous force split the air like a cannonshot.
Something wrenched him backward with brutal strength, tearing him away from Liam's throat like a doll flung by a god. His body was airborne, limbs flailing wildly—
CRASH!
He smashed into the rubble with bone-jarring violence. The impact split the earth beneath him, a deafening crack echoing across the ruins as a shockwave rolled out, throwing debris high into the air and swallowing the street in a suffocating fog of dust.
Moments later, Mourne groaned, barely clinging to consciousness as waves of agony pulsed through him. His head throbbed with white-hot pain. Most of his ribs were cracked—maybe all of them. He could feel the fractures knitting together slowly thanks to his regenerative ability, but even that came with its own torment. Dust caked his skin and eyes, dulling his vision in a gray blur.
