LOVE ME LIKE A CURSE
“How long must we wait, Maelis? Another century? Another millennium? While she breathes as mortal, untouched by us? No. We erred in mercy. The rite was too clean. Too measured. It is power she requires—violence, blood pain carved into her flesh. That is how the crescent will awaken.”
Cassian’s gaze sharpened. “You suggest we begin again.”
“I demand it,” Seraphine purred. “We risk the prophecy unraveling if we hesitate. If the girl resists us, then we will break her resistance. There is a darker rite. Older. Forbidden even among us.” She leaned forward, eyes glittering. “It does not call the mark—it brands it. Burns it into the vessel’s skin, whether she yields or not.”
The cavern groaned, a