My chest tightened.
The Executor's Halo had activated without my will.
And then, as if that was not enough, something far worse happened.
At first it was subtle. A warmth beneath my skin. Then a prickling sensation in my veins. I looked down just in time to see faint wisps of crimson mist seeping directly out of my arms, my neck, my hands. Not from my core. Not from my channels. From my blood itself.
My breath caught.
The mist thickened in seconds, pouring out faster, heavier, until it wrapped around me like a living shroud. I could feel it answering something deep inside me, something ancient and hungry that I had never consciously called upon.
"No—" I muttered, trying to suppress it.
The crimson mist did not listen.
