Like an unwinding cable car

Despite the violence welled in the ember's breast, and the betrayal she felt Malachi committed, Tuwawi had never meant to draw the young man's blood as she had Adlartok's; and so when ruby red glistened upon the bridge of his nose and its saline taste spattered on her palette, the matriarch faltered. With one move he jerked towards the stumbling queen and grasped her slim maw, pressing earthbound. A shock wave rippled through the firebrand, her face aghast and blank as his pointed fangs applied their pressure to secure his position over the untamed flame. For a moment she was still -- her mind slow to process how her hand had been so easily forced -- but soon a shrill growl hissed between her fangs as her head twisted and bucked to undo Malachi's hold. "Let go of me!" she shrieked indignantly as her hair stood on end, muscles tense in preparation to counter his challenge.