Chapter 30 · Untitled Chapter

Ronan's weight drags me sideways. I catch him under the ribs, and his blood soaks through my jacket sleeve warm and wrong.

The debt mark on his chest isn't like the one I had. Mine was thin lines, creeping slow. His is carved deep, black branches wrapped around his heart like they're rooting in. Every breath he takes makes them twist tighter.

"You're an idiot," I tell him.

He laughs. It sounds like broken glass. "You said that already."

"Because it's still true."

The Collector is screaming somewhere behind the rubble. The creature he summoned is still tearing through the stone columns, and Vera's voice is hoarse from shouting orders to her security team. But all I can see is the black spreading under Ronan's skin.

He wanted his throne back. He walked into this rite knowing Vera's family would try to kill him. He survived the ring eating his blood for weeks. And now he threw it all away because I was too stupid to run when I had the chance.

"We need to move." I try to pull him toward the exit, but he won't budge.

"Quinn." His hand closes over mine.