As the spell shatters, a violent, glorious rush of life floods my veins. The world around me, once suspended in perfect, silent stillness, shudders back into motion.

Sound returns in a cascade. I hear the rustle of leaves in a sudden breeze, the distant, questioning hoot of an owl, and closest of all, the soft, startled gasp of a woman. When my eyes open, the first thing I register is a scent: metallic, fleshy, clinging to her finger where it presses near my face.

My gaze lifts and meets hers. In her eyes, wide with shock and something else, I feel a profound and unsettling wave of familiarity.