ROMAN
The moment the red circle’s glow brightened around us, I cried out, my knees hitting the ground hard. Agony followed. It was as though the blood in my veins had been replaced with fire. My skin itched and burned, turning me rabid.
"Roman!" Solana sobbed, dropping with me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as I folded forward. I barely registered anything but the pain and the consuming itch. I could feel the thing inside me waking fully, stretching, and clawing.
I groaned, my forehead pressing to the floor as my body trembled uncontrollably.
"Don't—don't let go," my woman pleaded, her voice cracking. "Please, stay with me."
I tried to answer her. Gods, I tried.
But my lungs wouldn't cooperate.
Her hands pressed to my chest, and suddenly, warmth flooded my body. I looked dow
