ALEK POV
The dark, smoky claws dug into my flesh, relentless and unforgiving. Night was snarling inside me, fighting to do damage control, trying to heal me enough to keep me alive. I could feel the magic eating at me, suffocating me, and I could do nothing but claw at the darkness, trying to push it away. But it was like moving f*****g claws, raking at my insides. How was it possible to be strangled by a cloud?
My breathing came in harsh, desperate gasps, but then I heard her—*the witch’s voice*. The way she asked for my *treasure blood*, it twisted something inside me. I could feel my control slipping, rage bubbling to the surface. I wasn’t going to let this happen. Not like this.
And then I looked at her—Amber.
The moment our eyes met, I knew. I could read her like an open book, and
