She was thinner than she had been. The thing ate only sparingly. Enough to keep Kasia alive, not enough to keep me from watching her wear away, her body growing gaunt and her face hollow-cheeked.

I started to murmur my own spell, but I found myself thinking not of roses but of water, and thirsty ground; building underneath his magic instead of trying to overlay it.

Her beautiful face was blank as an unwritten book.

Fire wouldn't burn he; blade wouldn't cut her, no matter how long we hacked away.