Chapter 16 · Price of Awakening

"Get your filthy hands off her!"

Cain’s voice didn't just echo—it cracked the air like a whip.

He didn't wait for the High Priest to answer. One blur of motion. Cain slammed his palm into the priest's chest, sending the old man flying. A sickening thud. The High Priest hit the stone wall, his ornate robes fluttering like a dying bird.

I stayed on the floor, chest heaving. The ground was still vibrating. My blood wasn't just singing—it was screaming. Liquid fire clawing at my veins, fighting to rip through my skin.

"You’re protecting a monster, Regent!" the High Priest spat, coughing up a spray of crimson. "She isn't a cure. She’s the catalyst! Every second she breathes your air, she poisons the empire!"

Cain didn't even look at him. He stepped toward me, boots heavy on the cracked stone.

His fingers locked around my jaw. Hard. Just shy of bruising. He forced my head up, making me stare into eyes that had gone completely feral.

"Is that what you feel, Ivy?" he whispered. His breath was hot against my lips. "Poison? Or have you finally stopped lying about what you are?"

"I don't...