Chapter 15 · Shattered Altar

"Do you still believe in your god, Selena? Or does he only listen when you're begging for mercy?"

Cane’s voice wasn't a whisper; it was a vibration that crawled up her spine. He had her pinned against the jagged remains of the altar—the same stone where he’d been sacrificed, the same cold slab that had once been the center of her world. Now, the altar was cracked, bleeding a thick, oily darkness that stained the white marble like a spreading bruise.

Selena tried to push against his chest, but it was like trying to move a mountain. His hands were locked around her wrists, pinning them above her head. The heat radiating from him was suffocating, smelling of ozone and something metallic, like old blood and burnt sugar.

"Let me go," she gasped, her chest heaving. "Cane, this... this isn't you. The Void is twisting your mind."

Cane let out a sharp, jagged laugh. He leaned in closer, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. The proximity made her heart hammer against her ribs, a frantic bird in a cage. "Twisting? No. For the first time in my life, I can see everything clearly.