Chapter 20 · Cracks in the Halo

"Stop fighting it, Selena. It’s embarrassing," Cane murmured, his voice a low vibration that seemed to rattle the very air of the Void.

He didn't just stand near her; he crowded her, pinning her against the jagged obsidian wall of his sanctuary. His hand wasn't gripping her throat, but his thumb was pressed firmly against the pulse point of her neck. He could feel it—the frantic, hummingbird beat of a heart that knew it was trapped.

"I will not... submit to this filth," Selena spat, though her voice lacked its usual celestial authority. She tried to summon a flare of Holy Light, a burst of purity to push him back, but the glow was sickly. It didn't shine; it flickered like a dying bulb.

Cane chuckled, a dark, dry sound. "Filth? This is the truth of the world you tried to bleach white. Look at you. You're shaking."

He leaned in closer, the scent of cold ozone and something metallic—like old blood and burnt sugar—filling her senses.