“Take him down right now,” Althea cried to Gavriel. She could no longer bear watching Kael being poisoned and slowly consumed by the darkness.

“Strike through his heart,” she added when she saw the black heart coiled around Kael’s own, pulsing like a parasite feeding on him.

Gavriel did not hesitate.

He moved instantly and drove his still-sheathed sword straight toward Kael’s chest.

The moment the blade struck, a burst of white flame erupted from it and spread across Kael’s ...