The Gamma's Shattered Soul
I was watching her when it happened.
Brianna rose from her crouch, said something low and precise under her breath, and made a gesture over the outermost sigil line. There was a sound, not quite audible, more felt than heard, a pop that registered somewhere behind the sternum rather than in the ears, and for one suspended second, Harper glowed. Not dramatically. Not the full blaze of angelic grace I'd seen her unleash in combat. Just a faint luminescence, like light seen through skin, like something that had been pressed down and was now, briefly, allowed to surface. Her brand, the mark from the Order's ritual, pulsed once at the back of her neck, visible above the collar of her shirt. Then