Chapter 303

• Riley’s POV
• The fire in my stomach spread like a wildfire, scorching through my veins, radiating into every limb. It was a deep, visceral pain, gnawing at my organs, twisting inside me like knives forged in ice and flame. Not even the strongest alchemical sedatives Theo Hale had once administered could dull this agony.
• I bit down hard on my lip, tasting copper, tasting the dark truth of what I had done. A cough tore through me, and a dark rivulet of blood sprayed onto the cold stone floor of the infirmary chamber. It hissed faintly, the smell of iron sharp in my nostrils. Yet, despite the searing torment, a strange smile tugged at the corner of my lips—a smile of bitter release.