Vane's POV She was off the throne now, stumbling toward me on legs that were barely holding her up, her eyes still black but flashing with silver again, fighting the crown's influence with everything she had. She dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands cupping my face, and I could see the tears streaming down her cheeks, could feel them on my skin like acid."I'm not going to die," I managed to say, though my voice was wrecked, every word a struggle. "I just need... I need help. The power is too much. I need a buffer.""A buffer?" Ronan was beside me now too, his face pale, his hands pressing against my chest like he could physically slow my heart down. "What kind of buffer? What do you need?"I couldn't answer. The words wouldn't form. The power was too much, too overwhelming, eating me alive from the inside out. My heart was going to explode. I could feel it. Three more beats, maybe four, and it would rupture, and I would die, and then Lilith would die too because the crown
Read more