This wasn’t Kain’s first teleportation with the help of a witch, but it felt different this time, rougher, heavier, like his insides were being wrung out. He stumbled forward, panting, hands braced on his knees as he fought to steady himself.

“You good?” Georgia asked with a lopsided smile. She had made the journey deliberately brutal, and the satisfaction gleamed in her eyes.

“Was that supposed… to be… how it works!?” Kain barked, fury in his voice as weakness clung to his limbs.

“Oh, my poor baby.” she cooed mockingly, rubbing his back like a mother soothing a child. He jerked away, shaking her off with disgust.

“Where’s Lucy?” he...