The rune beneath my foot exploded.
Not outward. Upward.
A bolt of raw energy tore straight through my boot, shot up my leg, and punched into my bones with the force of a lightning strike.
I screamed.
My whole body jerked violently. The impact slammed through my spine and burst into my wrist, where the mark flared so hot I thought my skin might split open.
I staggered backward, but it did not matter. The rune held me in place like a hook driven into the ground. My limbs trembled. My teeth clacked together hard enough to hurt.
“Margot.” Nathan’s voice cut through the ringing in my skull. “Look at me.”
I tried.
I really did.
But my vision blurred, swimming with streams of silver light racing across the walls. Everything pulsed. The chamber. The floor. The air. My blood.
Energy climb
