**Chapter 26 — Blood and Binding**
The crystal at the heart of the rift did not wait for consent.
The moment Liora and Cairis stepped close enough, the ancient tear in reality seized them.
A violent pulse of raw abyssal power slammed into their bodies, ripping away control like a storm tearing leaves from branches. Liora gasped as her mind fogged, thoughts dissolving into pure sensation. Cairis growled low in his throat, eyes flashing bright crimson as the rift flooded him with power he had lost since the night she stole his heart.
They were no longer fully themselves.
The rift was in control now.
Cairis's hands shot out and grabbed Liora with bruising force, slamming her back against the pulsing crystal. The stone was ice-cold against her bare skin, but his body burned like a furnace. His claws tore through what remained of her clothes in one savage motion, shredding fabric and drawing thin lines of blood across her ribs.
