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Sharp, invisible daggers drilled into my skull as more incantations burst out of Nadia, her eyes molten amethyst stones. The blinding lights on the ceiling flickered, and the candle flames jumped higher. An electric tang coated the air as her magic intensified.
Searing lava flowed through my veins—not in the way it did when Fane touched me—and I bit my lip to keep from whimpering. Blood spilled into my mouth, sliding over my tongue and down my throat.
“Just keep holding on, Tate.” Ruin’s voice barely made it past the thundering in my head.
Nadia lifted her hand and then used more of the spell mixture to draw sigils on my torso, each one burning like acid. “Bone and blood. Sun and moon. Sacrifice the fire and rip the chains. Melt them on a pyre.”
Scarlet flashed over my vision and then white as a volcano of anguish erupted inside me. My body wanted to tear in half, and I couldn’t stop the violent scream from bursting out of my mouth, rattling the lab.
“Keep her still, Ruin!” Nadia yelled between her chants.
Another set of arms pinned me down as I thrashed on the table. Beyond the blurry, pain-filled haze, Estella’s lips thinned into a tight white line.
She really would have preferred it if Denton had chained me.
My fingers pressed against the stainless-steel table, my nails digging in and trying to rip gouges.
Pressure manifested just below my ribs, and when I focused beyond the fog and looked down, the navy handprint and the sigils Nadia drew glowed orange while the tattoo became the color of fresh blood. Something stirred within my center.
Another shriek ripped from me as a tangible presence moved beneath my skin, pushing up. Terror gripped me as the scene fromAlienwhere that thing burst out of the guy’s chest sped through my mind.
Oh, hell no.That was not happening to me.
Bile seeped up my throat, and my legs jerked on the chains.
“It’s okay, Tate,” Ruin shouted over the howling of the spell. “We’re almost there.”
Tools on the counters and small objects vibrated as the spell strengthened. Nadia’s chanting became a string of incoherent words lashing at the wind. My back arched off the table again, and a shape formed beneath my moving skin.
The red sun stone emerged, pushing at my flesh and stretching it.
My vision blurred, but the thing trying to explode out of my torso remained in focus. Would it rip a giant hole in me?
For some reason, Fane’s image flashed over my vision, his face a mask of fury. His fire and earth scent mixed with spices called to me. I wanted him to make this agony disappear. I needed to hide in his arms and pretend the world wasn’t such a cold, hard place. And I wanted him to lie and tell me I wasn’t a monster.
Just when it felt like I would split in half, the pain subsided, and my head crashed to the table. The wind died, and the vibrating ceased.
“What the hell happened, Nadia?” Ruin’s voice was distant in my ears, but the harsh, angry edge sharpening it came through crystal clear.
Nadia shook her head. “I-I don’t know.” She held her hand over me and whispered a few words. “It just stopped.”
Sweat leaked down my temple and more slid over my chest, disappearing into my tank top. “It didn’t work?” I muttered.
But I already knew. The wicked power of the Infernal Sol still coiled inside of me. I went through all that pain, and the bastard amulet wouldn’t release me.
“Something just stopped it, Ruin.” Nadia shook her head and showed her palms as he stared her down with enough venom to kill her. “The Infernal Sol has a mind of its own and refuses to leave its host.”
Great. The damn thing was like a freaking parasite, sucking all the sanity from my mind. That was probably why I was stupid enough to wish for Fane a few moments ago.
Ruin released me and leaned his hands on the table, grinding his teeth as he studied the swirling sun tattoo that had returned to its normal ebony color. “I’m sorry, Tate. I know this must be disappointing.”
“The Infernal Sol is one stubborn prick,” I muttered.
Nadia’s tense shoulders relaxed, and she shuffled to a chair in the corner, folding into it. She dragged her arm across her forehead to wipe away the sweat that had formed. Her purple shirt and strands of hair stuck to her. That spell had been rough on her too.
Ruin sighed and gestured toward Estella who leaned against the far right counter, clutching a tablet to her chest. “Bring me a cool rag.”
The alchemist hustled at Ruin’s request, grabbed a cloth from a drawer, ran it under water in the sink on the right, and scurried over. “Here you go, sir.”
