Chapter 17 · The Bloodline Lie

"It doesn't obey me anymore."

Ronan's free arm shook as he reached for me. The gate snapped tight around his body and dragged him forward. His breath punched out in a wet gasp.

"Take the pain back," he said. "Mara, take it back."

The water cinched around my throat. Cold pressure crushed my lungs while Ronan's agony poured through the bond. I tasted blood.

"You said the covenant shared it."

"It shares what it wants."

"Then stop fighting it!"

"If I stop, it kills you."

His shoulder hung wrong. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. Still, he kept reaching for me like the gate wasn't tearing him apart.

He'd chosen this. He'd stepped into the backlash because the covenant had let him.

And he was breaking for me.

"You don't get to suffer for me this time," I said.

His head jerked up. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Mara, don't do anything stupid."

"That's rich coming from you."

I forced my hand through the bond and searched for the point where his pain met mine. I found it buried between our hearts—a live wire twisted around both of them.

The instant I touched it, fire ripped up my arm.