His Regret, The Crown's Claim
My blood flowed endlessly from the wound, pouring into the carved channels of the dark stone, flowing like a river of fire toward the central basin.
I thrashed against the stone, but Silas’s heavy hands clamped onto my shoulders, pinning me down.
“Stay still, Zara!" he barked in my ear. "Accept the pain and don't let them see you break. Only then can you be stronger."
Through the haze of tears and agony, I watched the elder reach into the basin, then he brought out a small glass vial. Inside the vial, swimming in a thick, yellowish fluid, was a creature that made my stomach violently churn. It was a long, pale parasite, its body thin as a needle, its head covered in dozens of tiny, black cil