Chapter 61

• The Temple was collapsing around us. I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet, the deafening noise of rocks crashing down all around. The air was thick with the scent of burning stone and decay, and in that moment, I knew we had little time left.
• Mike’s taunting words echoed in my mind, bouncing off the walls of the ruined Temple. ‘You still don’t get it, do you? This was never about winning. This was about breaking you.’ His grin, filled with so much malice, burned into my mind.
• I could barely focus as I staggered to my feet, the silver-coated blade that had pierced my chest still lodged deep inside me. The poison from the blade was spreading through my veins, a burning, freezing sensation that made my heart beat erratically. But I couldn’t think about it now. I had to focus on the one thing that mattered: getting out.