Chapter 20 · Blood Resonance

"Tessa, move!" Rowan's voice came out of my mouth.

I looked down and saw his hands gripping the black-edged blade. His hands. His coat. His boots. My body stood three steps away, one palm pressed to the glowing seal in the gate.

And my body was smiling.

"You look terrible in my face," I said.

Rowan—wearing me—swore and ducked as the void-beast slammed into the stone arch. The impact shook dust from the ceiling. Its claws scraped across the barrier, long enough to make sparks jump.

"Stop talking and get out of my body!"

"Great plan. How?"

"The seal did this because you overloaded it."

"I overloaded it? You were the one shouting at the gate!"

"I was telling you not to touch it."

"You said, 'Use the resonance.' Those were your exact words."

The beast struck again.

The gate split with a sound like a giant bone snapping. Red light poured through the crack. Beyond it, something huge shifted in the dark. I felt the movement through Rowan's feet, through his knees, all the way up his spine.

His body was stronger than mine. Faster, too. It knew where to put its weight before I thought about moving.