Duke reacted fast, pulling back and away the moment she hissed -- but it wasn't fast enough. A drop of blood hit the last knuckle on his index finger. He had just enough time to spot it before it soaked in --

And his body reacted.

The rush wasn't the same as it had been before Mara pumped so much more aether into him. It wasn't a wave that rolled over and through him that he could ride out. It was a sledgehammer. A wrecking ball. A wall. He stiffened, trying desperately to control the urge to lunge for Octavia and that injured finger, to rip into her and devour the trouble he could sense inside her.

He managed to croak out a single, agonized syllable before he couldn't fight it anymore.

"Run."