Chapter 2

Cain tilted his head, a slow, predatory movement. "We do. But you’re the one who can’t aim. Do you really think I’m going to waste my energy saving a battery that doesn't know how to discharge?"

I glared at him, my eyes stinging. The Sentinel let out a guttural hiss, its muscles tensing for the final thrust. I didn't have time to argue. I didn't have time to be a victim. I lunged sideways, the claw whistling past my ear and carving a deep gouge into the black rock.

I scrambled back, gasping, my palms scraping against the grit. The mark on my chest—the pact—wasn't just glowing anymore. It was burning. It felt like someone had poured molten lead into my veins.

"You want to live?" Cain stepped forward, his boots clicking on the stone. He didn't look worried. He looked bored. "Then stop pretending you're the girl who needs saving. That girl died the second your family tossed you into this hole."

"Shut up!" I snapped, pushing myself up. My legs were shaking, but I forced them to hold. "Tell me how to use this. Now."

He stopped inches from me. He was too tall, too close. I could smell something like winter air and ancient smoke clinging to him. He reached out, his fingers not quite touching my chin, but the heat radiating from his hand made my skin prickle.

"The power isn't a gift, Ella. It’s a loan," he whispered, his eyes locking onto mine. They weren't human. They were abyssal—shifting voids that seemed to swallow the light. "And the interest rate is your life. Every time you call on me, you give me a piece of your soul. A month. A year. A decade. You pay in time."

I let out a jagged laugh. "What’s the point of living a long time if I’m just a slave to a family that wants me dead?"

Cain’s lips curled into a thin, dangerous smile. "Now we're talking. You've got a little fire in you after all. Most humans just beg. You're actually negotiating."

"I'm not negotiating," I spat, glancing back at the Sentinel, which was circling for another pass. "I'm buying. Give me enough power to rip that thing's head off, and I'll give you whatever you want from my lifespan."

"Greedy," he murmured. He shifted his weight, his chest nearly brushing mine. The tension was thick, a physical weight that made it hard to breathe. He wasn't just offering power; he was testing me, seeing if I’d break under the pressure. "Fine. Let's start with a down payment. Ten years."

"Ten years?" I gasped. "Are you insane?"

"Ten years, or you die in ten seconds," he replied, glancing casually at the Sentinel.

I looked at the monster. I looked at Cain. I didn't hesitate. "Deal."

"Good girl," he whispered.

Suddenly, he slammed his hand against my chest, right over the mark. I didn't feel pain—I felt a vacuum. It was like my heart had been yanked out of my ribs for a split second. My vision blurred, and a wave of ice-cold energy surged from his palm, flooding into my lungs, my arms, my fingertips.

It wasn't a gentle flow. It was a violent invasion.

"Now," Cain commanded, his voice echoing in my head. "Don't think. Just hate. Imagine the face of the man who betrayed you. Imagine Lucas. Imagine him laughing while you fell. Now, push it out."

I didn't need to be told twice. I pictured Lucas—his perfect smile, his fake promises, the way he’d looked at me with disgust as the Void swallowed me. The rage was instantaneous. It was a white-hot spike in my gut that screamed for release.

I screamed, throwing my hand forward.

A blast of violet-black energy erupted from my palm, a concussive wave that hit the Sentinel like a freight train. The creature didn't even have time to howl. The blast tore through its chest, shredding the shadow-flesh and sending it flying backward, slamming it into the obsidian wall with a sickening crunch.

It slumped, dissolving into a heap of grey ash.

I fell to my knees, gasping for air. My arm was trembling, and the mark on my chest felt like it had been branded with a hot iron. I looked up at Cain. He was watching me with a look of genuine curiosity, as if I were a strange insect he was considering crushing.

"Not bad," he said, his tone still clinical. "A bit messy, but the output was... satisfying."

"I... I feel like I'm dying," I wheezed, clutching my chest.

"You are," he said simply. "That’s the price. You just traded a decade of your future for a moment of vengeance. Was it worth it?"

I looked at the pile of ash that used to be a monster. I thought about the empire waiting for me above—the people who thought I was a sacrifice, a footnote in their history.

"Yes," I whispered. "It was worth every second."

Cain chuckled, a low sound that vibrated in the air. He stepped closer, his shadow looming over me. "You're a terrifying little thing, aren't you? Most people would be mourning their lost years. You're just asking for more."

He reached down and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up with a strength that made my bones ache. He didn't let go. His grip was firm, possessive. He pulled me flush against him, and for a moment, the world narrowed down to the heat of his body and the suffocating intensity of his gaze.

"But let's be clear, Ella," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "You're not my partner. You're my vessel. My battery. If I decide I'm hungry, I'll take more than ten years. I'll take everything until there's nothing left of you but a shell."

I tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold, his thumb pressing into the sensitive skin of my wrist. "Then I'll make sure I'm too expensive to keep," I countered, my voice shaking but steady. "You need me to get out of here, don't you? You can't leave the Abyss without a tether."

Cain’s eyes flared. He didn't like being reminded of his limitations. For a second, I thought he might snap my wrist just to prove a point. The air around us began to crackle with static, the shadows twisting like living snakes at his feet.

"You think you have leverage," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl.

"I know I do," I replied, leaning in, refusing to flinch. "You're a king without a kingdom, Cain. And I'm the only door out."

He stared at me for a long beat. The silence was deafening, filled only by the sound of my own frantic heartbeat. Then, he let out a short, sharp laugh and released me so abruptly I nearly fell over.

"Fine. Let's test that door. But don't think this makes us friends. If you trip, I'm not picking you up. If you scream, I might just let the things in the dark eat you."

"Deal," I said, wiping the grime from my face.

"One more thing," Cain added, his eyes scanning my body. "The pact isn't fully settled. To stabilize the energy, I need to anchor the bond. It’s going to hurt."

"What does that mean?" I asked, stepping back.

He didn't answer. He just smiled—that same predatory, dark smile—and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a searing pain exploded in the center of my back. I gasped, arching my spine as it felt like a hot blade was being driven through my shoulder blades. I tried to scream, but the air was knocked out of me. I collapsed forward, my hands hitting the cold stone.

"What are you doing?" I choked out, my voice barely a whisper.

"Anchoring you," Cain said, his voice sounding far away. "The mark on your chest is the key. The mark on your back... that's the lock."

I felt something rip—a sensation of skin tearing and stitching itself back together in a heartbeat. A surge of power, far more violent than the first, yanked me upward. The ground beneath me seemed to vanish, and the darkness of the Void began to swirl into a vortex, pulling me in with terrifying force.

"Hold on tight, little battery," Cain’s voice echoed, sounding smug. "We're going home."

Just as the pressure became unbearable, just as I felt my soul being stretched thin across the void, a voice drifted through the chaos. It wasn't Cain's. It was a whisper, cold and familiar, echoing from the world above.

"Is she still breathing?" someone asked.

My heart stopped. I knew that voice. It was Lucas.

And then, the vortex exploded.