Chapter 31 · Voidbound - Chapter 31: The Thing Under His Heart

"You're going to die if you don't let go."

Kael hit the ground hard, concrete scraping his palms. The core in his chest was burning through him, layer by layer, and the Voidling was screaming inside his head—no words, just raw panic.

"Shut up," he gasped. "I know."

But he didn't know. Not really. The Guild core Mira had shoved into his hand before the floor dropped—before she fell with it—was lodged somewhere between his ribs and his spine now, pulsing like a second heartbeat. Every pulse sent fire through his veins. Every breath tasted like copper.

The Voidling coiled tighter in the bond, claws digging into the inside of his skull.

"Stop pulling," Kael said through his teeth. "You're making it worse."

It didn't stop. It never stopped. The creature had been dragging at the bond since the core went in, trying to rip itself free, trying to sever the pact before the backlash killed them both.

Kael pressed his forehead to the cold floor and tried to breathe. His vision was splitting—half the ruined safehouse, half something darker, deeper. The Voidling's perspective.