(Olivia’s POV)
Pain ripped through me as the ritual circle flared to life. I couldn't hold back the scream that tore from my throat. The dark energy felt wrong—corrupted and hungry, trying to devour me from the inside out.
"Stop!" Liam shouted from where they'd chained him. His voice cracked with desperation. "You're killing her! Dominic, look at what it's doing to her!"
Through the haze of agony, I saw Dominic's face change. The certainty in his expression cracked as he watched dark energy crawl up my arms like black veins, leaving burned flesh in its wake.
"Something's wrong," he muttered, stepping toward the circle. "This isn't what—the magic shouldn't be hurting her like this."
"What did you expect?" Richard's voice cut through the night air like a blade. He emerged from the shado
