Chapter 22 · His Fire Goes Feral

The mark burns into my wrist before I can even scream.

Gu Hanchuan's hand is locked around mine, his eyes gone full black, and the air in the hall turns so hot I can't breathe. The elders are yelling—Shen and Wan backing up, Lin Yuan lunging forward—but all I feel is the contract slamming through my meridians like a whip made of fire.

It's not supposed to feel like this.

Last time it was cold. Clinical. A thread of his spiritual energy knotting itself to mine, pulling just enough to keep the poison down. This time it's molten. It's tearing through every seal my uncle ever put on my root, ripping them open one by one, and I feel my Yin energy flood out like blood from a cut artery.

"Sect Leader!" Wan's voice cracks. "You'll kill her—"

"Shut up." Gu's voice doesn't sound human. His grip tightens on my wrist and I feel his fire poison slam into my core, dragging my energy out in waves. My knees buckle. He catches me with his other arm, pulls me against his chest, and the scent of burnt cedar and something sharp—like metal left in a furnace—