Chapter 35 · Symbiotic Flame

"Get your hands off me!"

I screamed, but the High Inquisitor didn't even flinch. His grip on my wrist was a vice, dragging me away from Cain’s convulsing body.

"You're not a girl, Ivy," the Inquisitor purred. Cold. Grave-still. "You're a masterpiece of biological spite. A poison wrapped in pretty skin. Now, be a good little weapon and come with me."

I thrashed, boots skidding on blood-slicked marble. "Let go! Cain!"

Cain let out a sound that wasn't human—a guttural, wet snarl. He clawed at the floor, trying to push up. Black veins crawled up his neck, pulsing with a rhythmic, violet light. He was being eaten from the inside out.

And I knew it was because of me. My power—that shimmering, forbidden heat—was still anchored in his chest, feeding on his agony.

"Look at him," the Inquisitor mocked, forcing my head around. "The Great Regent, reduced to a whimpering dog because he dared to feel something for his own executioner. Poetic, isn't it?"

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!"

I lunged. The Inquisitor slammed me back against a pillar. The impact knocked the wind out of me, leaving me gasping, lungs burning.

Cain's eyes snapped to mine.