Sinner tries to pull her upright, only to choke on air so heavy it seems to clot in his throat. His hand clamps around her arm but there’s no strength behind it—not enough to hold her, barely enough to hold himself.
Creed lasts seconds longer, shoving past them all in a last attempt at the exit. He manages two steps before his shoulders lock, his spine seizing, and he slams a palm against the cavern wall to keep from collapsing entirely. His head whips toward his brothers in clear panic.
“Move!” he rasps. “Everyone move.”
But no one is moving.
Not anymore.
The poison is in them.
Every breath dragging it deeper.
That’s when Legend drops.
He goes down like the world just cut the strings holding him up—legs folding, palms striking stone, breath tearing out of him in a harsh, fractured gasp. His hand flies to his throat, fingers pressing deep enough to whiten the knuckles as he fights just to draw in another lungful.
His body lurches, shoulders trembling violently. His head tilts toward me in a desperate, blurry attempt at focus, but his eyes are glassy. Unanchored.
Something detonates in my chest.
It’s dark.
Possessive. A single, primal command claws up my spine:
Get to him.
Now.
Yours.
The cavern seems to narrow, collapsing inward until the only thing that exists is the distance between us and the sound of him trying, and failing, to breathe.
I push off the stone, stumbling closer to him. The poison thickens, slowing everything, weighing down my limbs like they’re filling with wet sand. But the instinct dragging me toward him is stronger. It tears through the resistance, ripping me forward until I crash down beside him, catching his weight before his head hits the ground.
His breath shudders against my neck, broken and uneven. A low, animalistic sound tears from me, protective to the point of violence.
Behind us, the others collapse fully.
Knight’s back hits the dirt.
London slumps sideways, hands twitching weakly.
Sinner falls to one knee, then both.
Creed makes one final attempt to stand, growling through gritted teeth, before his legs give out from under him.
They’re drowning in it.
Suffocating.
Legend’s fingers curl into my jacket, knuckles trembling.
“Mate—” he chokes, barely a sound at all.
That’s what breaks whatever thin border existed between me and the creature pacing under my skin.
Heat slams through me, stealing my breath for a heartbeat before releasing it in a surge that feels like the world is exhalingwith me.The cavern trembles, the stone beneath us vibrating, dust falling in thin sheets from the ceiling. The air thickens again, but this time it’s not poison.
