I couldn't kill him.
Not Kade. Not after everything.
So I did the only thing I could think of.
I reached for the curse.
Not with my hands. With my magic. With that wild, untrained power that had been tearing me apart since it manifested.
And I pulled.
The curse resisted. Fought. It wanted Kade. Wanted to consume him completely.
But I was his mate. His anchor. The one person connected to him deeper than anything else.
Even a centuries-old curse.
"Come on," I whispered. "You want power? You want a host? Take me instead."
The curse hesitated.
Then it lunged.
Into me. Through me. Wrapping around my magic like poison.
The pain was indescribable.
Like being burned alive from the inside. Like every nerve ending was screaming.
But I held on.
Forced the curse deeper. Away from Kade.
