“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” A heavily distorted voice explodes from her along with a rush of power, and a blast of heated air smacks against me, forcing long strands of red hair off my face and the ends to billow out in all directions. The ring around her pupil expands as her magic penetrates the air, consuming the warm brown of her iris and casting her skin in a cool, silver light. A demonic light.

I eye the beautiful creature warily, the thing beneath my skin rising to meet her power head-on. It likes it. It wants it.

While each demon's power increases with the bond, Dagny’s has grown exponentially, propelled to new heights every time she bonds with another piece of Abaddon’s soul. The fourth bond—our bond—allowed her powers to fully awaken, that much is clear. But seeing it with my own eyes and having it used against me… I have no doubt that one day she will be the most powerful creature in The Far Place.

If only she lives long enough to see it.

As Dagny continues glaring with those shimmering silver eyes, I take a moment to inspect her. The beautiful dermal armor Kaebl gifted her is in tatters, showcasing her protruding ribs and deep, festering sores across her arms and legs.

I’ve seen the wounds only a handful of times in Abaddon’s memories, but it’s enough to realize exactly what they are—magic pollution. When halflings still walked the land, magic pollution was a real and terrible consequence of those able to harness the wells of power hidden deep in the earth of The Far Place. Unlike demons, halflings are born of both this world and the mortal realm, and have unlimited access to that source. But it comes with a price.

Dagny has no knowledge of how to halt the wave of power coursing into her bloodstream, and if she doesn’t learn, it will consume her soul and cause her to deteriorate, both mentally and physically—of which I am already seeing signs.

“Wild—Dagny,” I correct. “Please… I need to talk to you.” I don’t recognize my desperate tone, but it’s there nonetheless. However, it doesn’t have the effect on Dagny that I want.

“I don’t want to talk. I want to kill you.” For a moment, a flash of pain enters her gaze, but in the next, it’s gone, leaving me to wonder if it was there in the first place.

“Dagny, please⁠—”

“I said NO!”

Dagny’s piercing scream cuts me off as blinding silver light explodes from her pores, from her eyes and open mouth, bathing the room in luminescence. The beast under my skin rises to meet her show of power, and my skin shudders with the strength to hold it back.

Not here. Not now. Not yet.

But it seems Dagny has other ideas.