Sandcastle

It was Ethan. He stood just outside the rift, his usual harmless smile on his face, and the hands hidden in the pockets of his dark trousers. "Kitty. Fancy meeting you here."

If Katherine had been raised in any lower class than aristocracy, she would've spit in front of his feet. Even so, her face soured as if she'd bitten into a raw lemon. "I don't... fancy it at all."

Stepping aside to give the rest of the dark stream free access to the rift, she noticed that Ethan'd brought two helpers who lingered in the back nervously. The white lab coats outed them as researchers. She glanced them up and down and decided not to ask where Ve was. After all that happened today and with her magic nearly depleted, she wanted nothing more than walk away from this whole mess.

So, she did just that. Turned around and walked along the canyon that was now almost free of the dark substance.

After a second of surprise, Ethan called after her: "Hey, don't you want to know what I'll do with this? Aren't