Chapter 12 · The Saintess Bites Back

"Get your hands off me, Cane!"

Selena’s voice cracked, but she didn't pull away. Not really. Her wrist was still locked in Cane's grip, her skin pale against the bruising pressure of his fingers. They were standing in the center of the Grand Cathedral of Luminis, the air thick with the smell of ancient incense and the metallic tang of blood.

Around them, the high priests were screaming, their golden robes fluttering like panicked birds. The coronation of the new High Sovereign was supposed to be a holy event. Instead, it had become a slaughterhouse.

"And where exactly are you going, Selena?" Cane stepped closer, his voice a low, dangerous vibration. He didn't let go. He pulled her flush against his chest, the cold void-energy radiating from his skin clashing with the warmth of her holy aura. "Back to the altar? Back to the people who told you I was a monster?"

"You are a monster!" she spat, though her breath was hitching. She tried to shove him, but it was like pushing against a mountain of obsidian. "Look at this place! Look at what you've done!"

Cane glanced around the ruined nave.