Chapter 30 · Lethal Resonance

"Don't fight it, Sloane. Just let it break you."

His voice came from the balcony, amplified by a frequency that made my teeth ache. I didn't answer. I couldn't. My knees hit the marble floor with a crack that echoed through the ballroom.

It wasn't just sound. It was a psychic spike—a jagged needle of energy driving straight into my brain. Augustus hadn't just poisoned the wine; he’d tuned the air. A resonant loop designed to shatter anyone with royal blood.

"Get up!" Kael’s voice barked in my ear.

He grabbed my shoulder, his grip like a vice, trying to yank me up. I couldn't move. My vision frayed into static.

"He knows," I gasped, my voice sounding like it was coming from the bottom of a well. "He knows the frequency, Kael. He’s matching it."

Kael didn't let go. He shifted, shielding me with his body, his heavy cloak sweeping the floor. I could feel the heat radiating off him, the scent of leather and cold steel.

"I don't care who he is," Kael growled. "You aren't collapsing here."

"I'm not... collapsing," I managed, my fingers twitching against the stone. "I'm resonating.