Chapter 31 · Look at your skin

He reached out, not to strike, but to pat my shoulder. The gesture was more insulting than a slap.

"Look at your skin," Victor whispered. "The cracks are widening. The Devouring Bone isn't fusing with you; it's replacing you. In a week, maybe two, there won't be any 'Cain' left. Just a mindless husk of a bone-beast. Is that the revenge you wanted?"

I stiffened. I had felt the hunger, the way the bone seemed to want to overwrite my consciousness, but hearing him say it made the fear real. I looked at Sela. She was watching me, her expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of something—pity? Or was it just anticipation of the crash?

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice tight.

"I want to see how far this goes," Victor said, stepping back and crossing his arms. "I want to see if you can actually tame the abyss, or if you'll just be another casualty of curiosity. But I'm a generous man. I'll give you a choice."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't like choices given by people I want to kill."

"Then you'll love this one," Victor replied.