The roar shook the cavern like a second heartbeat, pounding in my skull until I thought it would split me open. Lava light dappled the stone walls, shadows bounding like mad dancers. The figure in the c***k bent forward, pulling the heat with it, and I knew—knew—that it wasn’t just here by mistake.
It had sniffed me out.
Arabella’s smile was soft, maddeningly calm amidst the chaos. “Do you feel it now, Vivian? It knows you. It was waiting.”
Wren moved in front of me, his blade catching the glow of the molten fire, jaw clenched. “Don’t listen to her,” he hissed, without even glancing back. “Whatever it is, it’s using her. And if it gets to you—”
“It’s not using me,” Arabella interrupted, her voice reverberating strangely, braided with the rumble of the creature. She raised a hand, palm
