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Edwin clenches his teeth. He stays quiet except for a low grunt, his body tense as he fights through the pain. I hold it there for the full three seconds before pulling back and returning the iron to the fire.
The darkened symbol on his chest completes the transformation. He has claimed his family’s legacy.
But now it’s my turn to receive the gift.
I take his place in the chair, straddling it and holding onto the back. Edwin’s fingers slide into my hair, gathering it to one side. Then he pulls the sleeve of my dress down to reveal my shoulder blade and plants a kiss there.
“Deep breaths,” he says in my ear.
I breathe in deep through my nose and let it out through my mouth, forcing myself to stay calm.
Behind me, he lifts the iron meant for me. I turn enough to see its orange glow, the Seraph symbol at the end shaped like an open, jagged circle, a halo made dangerous.
I turn back around and squeeze the chair. My eyes close.
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod.
His fingers brush over my bare skin, soothing my nerves one last time. Then his voice lowers behind me.
“Slither in shadow. Strike with venom.”
He presses the iron against my skin, firm and unmoving for an unbearable three seconds.
A sound tears out of me, half cry and half scream. I force myself still. I take it. Even with tears falling down my face, I don’t run from the pain.
When he removes the iron, I hear it drop back into the fire pit before he pulls me into his arms, careful that we don’t touch each other’s wounds.
“Good girl,” he whispers in my ear and, despite everything, I melt against him.
I get a secret thrill from my pure skin being ruined. Something my mother, and Evelyn for that matter, would hate.
When it’s done, it’s official.
“Welcome our new Sovereign and Seraph,” Liam says.
The room erupts in thunderous applause. The sound fills the chamber until it rings in my ears. I turn my head, seeking Edwin before I let myself absorb the feeling. His eyes are already on me, unwavering.
After the cheers die down, Liam has one thing left to say.
“Your first act as Sovereign and Seraph has come sooner than expected.”
My pulse quickens. I knew this would happen. I’ve dreaded it, but it needs to be done.
Edwin takes my hand again. With him by my side, I can handle it.
Because I’m no longer the girl who survives by hiding. I’m becoming a woman who survives by standing in the fire and refusing to kneel.
CHAPTER 52
EDWIN
Istand beside Zaiya at the center of the chamber, and God help us all, she looks made for this. This version of her carries herself with regal elegance, transformed by every wound meant to break her. Dark ribbons of hair spill down her back, brushing against the raised scar that marks her as one of us.
Mine. My Seraph.
Herself, at last, and more dangerous than anything I could have molded her into.
