Chapter 25 · Bound to the Executioner: Leveling Up With My Enemy - Chapter 25: Stolen Divinity

"Get your hand off me before I decide your fingers are optional," I snapped, though my voice sounded like I’d been eating gravel.

Soren didn't budge. He had me pinned against the damp stone wall of the tunnel, his chest heaving, smelling of ozone and old blood. His eyes weren't just gold anymore; they were glowing, pulsing in time with that damn rune etched into his throat. The same rune that was currently burning a hole into my own skin.

"You did something," he hissed, his face inches from mine. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a feverish, divine warmth that made the hair on my arms stand up. "That wasn't just a mana transfer, Vespera. What did you link us to?"

I tried to shove him back, but my muscles felt like wet noodles. "I didn't link us to anything! The system glitched. I just... I pushed the button. You're the one who decided to soak up all that power like a sponge."

He gripped my wrist tighter, not enough to break it, but enough to let me know he could. His thumb brushed against the pulse point of my wrist, and I felt a jolt—