Chapter 19 · The Bite Beneath the Rift

"Calian, let go of me!" I drove my shoulder into his chest, but the rift behind him pulled harder than I could push.

His arm was trapped up to the elbow in the split between worlds. Black frost crawled over his sleeve. His claws dug into the stone, carving white lines through the fortress rampart as his body dragged inch by inch toward the tear.

The silver blade shook in my hand.

Not from fear. I told myself that twice.

"Put the knife down," Calian growled.

"You first. Stop trying to rip my head off."

His eyes were no longer gray. They burned gold, narrowed around pupils stretched too thin. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't seem to feel it. His teeth had lengthened past his lips.

The beast had taken his face and left his voice behind.

That was worse.

"Seraphina." His voice cracked over my name. "Move away from me."

"No."

"That's not a request."

"Good. I wasn't treating it like one."

The rift snapped behind him. A strip of darkness peeled open above the stone, showing nothing on the other side. No floor. No sky. No fortress.