KIRA'S POV

I don't know how long I screamed, only knew that my throat went raw from the sound. 

Mom's body slumped to the side, and all I could hear apart from my own screaming, was Ravenna's evil cackle. 

"I told her not to get in my way," she sang. "What are you going to do about that, Kira?" 

Probably, if she hadn't been too focused on taunting me, she could have killed me too in that moment, because I was stuck half-shift, with all my defenses down. Tears blurred my vision, and all I could see was Mom's face as she shielded me and told me she loved me....