Page 159 of Ballad of Nightmares

As his shadows consumed her existence, he watched her disappear from his arms.

And he waited.

He waited as the sky splintered in flashes of violent crimson light. He waited as the ground trembled outside and broke. He waited, leaned against the table, covered in her blood. Waited, and waited, and waited…

Thunder quaked the castle a few moments later. Sam sat up at the flicker of amber light before him. A tether appeared in midair. Bright as gold. The sun on a string. He reached up and wrapped the thread between his fingers, feeling a tug in his own abdomen, and he knew what it was.

It was the binding to Ana’s new existence—

Herimmortalone.

The creature that would haunt dreams with him and stalk the darkness…

And when she finally emerged, he swore his darkest desires had been answered.