Chapter 26 · Untitled Chapter

"Don't move." Cain caught my wrist before I could pull the silver thorn from the stone.

The thorn had punched straight through my palm a second ago. Now it hung between his fingers, dripping my blood onto the altar.

"You moved me," I snapped.

"I stopped you from feeding the trap."

"You dragged me across half the altar."

"And you're alive. Try gratitude."

I shoved his chest. He didn't budge.

Cain stood between me and the carved circle, his broad shoulders blocking the red lines crawling beneath the stone. His grip stayed locked around my wrist. Hot. Firm. Way too close to my pulse.

That annoyed me more than the trap.

"Let go."

His gaze dropped to my bleeding hand. His jaw tightened.

"Not yet."

"That wasn't a request."

"Neither was mine."

The altar cracked.

Red light split through the carvings under our boots. The circle flared, and a line of fire shot straight toward my hand.

Cain yanked me against him.

My back slammed into his chest.