Chapter 35 · Shattering the Chains

"Get her away from me! Now!"

Kane didn't just speak. He roared. The sound vibrated through the floorboards, shaking the air right out of my lungs.

He had me pinned. His fingers dug into my shoulders, bruising the skin, his grip like iron shackles. His eyes—those terrifying, glowing crimson slits—were blown wide. It wasn't desire. It was slaughter.

"Kane, look at me!"

I tried to scream, but it came out as a wheeze. The drug Silas had pumped into my veins felt like liquid fire. It raced through my heart, dragging Kane’s darkness along with it. I could feel it all—his rage, centuries of loneliness, the suffocating weight of the curse. It flooded me until I couldn't tell where my pain ended and his began.

Silas leaned against the doorframe, wearing a smug, clinical smile. He looked like a man watching a chemistry experiment go exactly as planned.

"Fascinating," Silas murmured, crossing his arms. "The catalyst didn't break the bond. It just opened the floodgates. Tell me, Elara, does it feel like drowning? Or is it more like burning?"

"Shut up, Silas!"

I gasped, my head snapping back as Kane let out a jagged howl.