Chapter 37 · Blood Bond's End

"Get out of my head!"

Kane’s voice wasn't his own. It was a roar—a dozen different screams layered into one, echoing through the void.

I didn't let go. Couldn't. I was anchored to him in this colorless expanse, the place where the blood bond lived. Around us, the world was dissolving into grey ash. Kane was sinking, dragged down by something ancient and hungry.

"I'm right here, Kane! Look at me!"

He lunged. His fingers dug into my shoulders, bruising the skin, desperate. His eyes weren't the gold I loved—they were pits of obsidian, leaking thick black smoke. The savage king was gone. Only the curse remained.

"Leave... me..." he wheezed. His chest heaved, straining against his shirt. "It's too... much..."

"I don't care if it's too much," I snapped. I grabbed his face, pulling him closer until our foreheads crashed together. "You don't get to quit. Not now. You're not a monster, Kane. You're just an idiot who thinks he has to fight this alone."

He let out a guttural sound, half-sob, half-growl. His teeth grazed my lower lip. It was a dangerous edge of hunger that had nothing to do with the curse. He was scorching—