LOGINCORAI gripped the black chains with both hands, pulling with everything I had. The metal was freezing, and the more I struggled, the tighter they wrapped around my limbs. Sylas watched me with a calm expression, and then he made a small gesture with his hand. The chains suddenly tightened, pinning my arms to my sides and forcing me flat against the stone. I was trapped on the altar, and I could feel the cold surface start to pulse slowly. It felt like a heartbeat under my back, and the vibration filled me with a new level of fear.Sylas stepped closer, leaning over me until his face was only inches from mine."It would have been better if you had just agreed earlier, Cora," he said. "You could have saved yourself a lot of pain."I looked up at him, my breath coming in short gasps. I hated his voice and I hated the way he looked at me like I was just a tool for his plans."You're never going to get what you want," I spat, and I gathered enough saliva to spit directly into his eyes.Sy
LIAMI was still locked in a brutal struggle with Ronan. I had seen Cora coming toward us out of the corner of my eye. Even though she was injured, I felt it was better than her staying near Sylas, but I didn't want her getting caught in the middle of our fight either. By now, I literally couldn't feel my limbs anymore. My body felt numb, yet the pain from the curse was more intense than it had ever been. It felt like my bones were being ground into powder. I was bloodied from head to toe, and so was Ronan. But compared to me, Ronan looked more lively. He moved with a speed that didn't make sense, and it seemed like he could continue fighting all day long while I was struggling to keep my eyes open.We stopped for a second, both of us breathing hard as we circled each other. Ronan wiped a smear of blood from his jaw and looked at me."You resemble a madman, Liam," he said, his voice mocking. "All of this for a woman? Look at yourself."I snarled, refusing to answer that. I didn't wan
CORAI didn't stay to listen to Sylas anymore. Instead of continuing our fight, I turned on my heel and hurried toward the direction where Liam and Ronan were tearing into each other. I could hear Sylas behind me, sounding speechless for a second before he tried to tell me it was a fool's errand. He started to follow me, but I didn't even look back. I just gripped the dagger I was still holding and threw it behind me with everything I had.To my surprise, the blade didn't just miss. It nailed his shoulder, pinning part of his cloak and flesh to the stone wall. It wouldn't hold him forever, but it gave me enough time to reach the two fighting brothers.Before I could even get close, Ronan seemed to spot me through the chaos. He was locked in a struggle with Liam, but he murmured loud enough for me to hear that it seemed Liam's little lover was coming to rescue him. I could see that Ronan was battered and bloodied. He looked terrible, mostly because he was still suffering from the curse
CORA I pressed my hands against the wound in Cade’s chest, but nothing happened. I tried everything I could think of, but the blood just kept leaking through my fingers. It was warm and thick, and no matter how hard I pressed, the flow didn't slow down. I was desperate, my mind searching for any scrap of information that could help, but I felt completely useless. Cade was getting weaker by the second, and the color was draining from his face until he looked like a statue.He coughed, and a spray of blood hit his lip. He looked at me, his eyes trying to focus, and he gripped my wrist with a hand that had no strength left."Cora," he rasped, his voice hoarse and broken. "You need to... you have to get out of here. Escape. While they’re... busy.""Shut up!" I screamed at him. I didn't care who heard me. I was fighting back tears that felt like they were going to burn my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "Just shut your mouth, Cade. You’re going to survive this. Do you hear me? You
CORAI stood frozen, watching the blood soak into the stone around Cade’s body. I was in utter shock and disbelief, because I never expected Ronan to be the one to end this. He had been planning to stab Cade all along, and the realization felt like a physical weight on my chest. My throat felt tight, but I managed to find my voice and I screamed at him.“How could you do this?” I yelled, my voice cracking.“He’s your brother! Your own blood!”Ronan didn't look like he felt any guilt. He simply smirked, and the light from the red altar made his face look like a mask of shadows. He brandished the shining black weapon, turning his attention away from Cade and toward me. He began walking in my direction, his boots clicking against the floor with a steady, terrifying rhythm.“It’s soon going to be your turn, Cora,” he said, his tone casual, as if he were talking about the weather.I felt a surge of cold fear. His figure seemed to become bigger in my eyes with every step he took, and I real
LIAMI had been following every word coming out of Sylas’s mouth while I fought, and most of it didn't surprise me. I had heard parts of the story before, but the detail about Cora’s bloodline was something I hadn’t fully realized. It changed everything, but I couldn't stop to think about it now. I was busy cutting down rogue after rogue as they flooded the hall, and there were just too many of them. They moved with a desperate hunger, throwing themselves at my claws, and I had to gut three of them just to take a single step forward.To make matters worse, Ronan had purposely moved to occupy Cade. I had told Cade to protect Cora, but Ronan was blocking his path, forcing him into a corner of the room where the shadows were thickest. I knew it was useless to blame Cade right now because Ronan was a beast when he wanted to be, but I just hoped I could finish these bastards in front of me and get to her side before Sylas did something irreversible.Then I saw it, and my heart nearly stopp
CORAI woke up a little tired and my body felt heavier than usual, but I pushed myself to sit up and move. I washed my face, fixed my hair and changed into clean clothes, then I made my bed and stretched my arms until my joints loosened a bit. I tried not to think too much about the night before, s
CADEI stayed at the peak and watched her run. Her steps were fast and uneven and I could see the panic in the way she kept looking over her shoulder as if something was already chasing her. I knew she would try it one day and I knew she would choose the back of the fortress because that was the on
CORAI spent the morning in the library because I didn’t want to think about last night and the way Liam looked at me and the way Ronan’s words stayed in my head, so I kept myself busy with the books on the table and tried not to remember how I cried over my food. The library was quiet and warm an
CORACade did not look happy to see me standing in front of him. His expression was cold and distant. Water ran down his neck and chest, tracing over hard muscles. My heart reacted before my mind did, and the mate bond pushed through me like an instinct I couldn’t control. It wanted me to reach out







