Chapter 22 · Blood Contract Betrayal

"Get away from me, Mara!"

Lucan’s voice didn't sound like his own. It was a jagged, distorted wreck of a sound, vibrating with a frequency that made the air in the darkened chamber shudder. He slammed his back against the cold stone of the altar, his chest heaving. Black veins were crawling up his neck, pulsing like living ink under his skin.

Mara didn't listen. She lunged forward, her boots skidding on the slick floor. "Shut up! I'm not leaving you to bleed out in the dark!"

She reached for him, but as her fingers brushed his arm, a shockwave of raw, violent energy blasted outward. It threw her back three feet. Her shoulder hit the wall with a dull thud, and for a second, the world spun.

"I said move!" Lucan roared. He gripped his own wrist, his knuckles white, trying to pin his arm down. The blood contract on his wrist—the one binding him to her—wasn't just glowing. It was bleeding. Actual droplets of crimson were seeping from the magical seal, sizzling as they hit the floor.

"You're shaking," Mara gasped, scrambling back up. She didn't care about the shockwave.