Blood and fire surged through her mind, creating a labyrinth of torture that tore at her soul and clawed at her skin until her eyes blurred to stars.

The voices of the ancient ones were whispering to her, chanting spells that made her body lurch forward and her throat swell up with blood.

"kilv av horr kunvudaav! Bilv av horr!"

Her bones twisted unwillingly underneath her skin, bending backward and breaking apart inside her own body. Another scream tore from her lips, one that was full of anguish and pain until her throat was raw and sore.

Her veins were being torn apart, her heart ripped from her own body and the forces of the world turning against her as the ancient ones damned her to hell. They threw her against walls made of fire and poles of blood, each blow causing her body to crumble under pressure!

"You must die!" A voice rasped inside her mind, cold and unwanted and their simple words cut through her like a knife. Her body began shaking, turning too hot and too cold at the same time her mind was turning numb.

"Stop! Just stop!" They weren't her words as her lips were sewn shut from a force she couldn't touch. Her throat was too filled with blood to speak and the raw pain swelled and fused her words.

No, the words came from somebody else, a voice that sounded far greater than any other voice she has ever heard. She thrashed against the forces that held her down and willed her eyes to stay open as a brilliant light burst through the fire and darkness, radiating like diamonds sewn into the stars.

"I speak ancient ones! Let her go!" The voice grew more powerful, more soulful and the chains constricted around her body were tightened, squeezing her entrails together. She could feel herself becoming light-headed, stars, and darkness spinning in her eyes until she could no longer tell what was fire and what was blood.

The chains around her became heavy, too heavy, and weighed her down into a bottomless, fire pit that drowned her in misery and torture and would lead her to the depths of hell. She didn't fight against the forces this time, wondering what was the point if she knew that was where she would always end up.

Hell.

But before she closed her eyes and waited for the flames below to engulf her, warm hands caressed the skin of her cheek and the tiny outline of gold eyes rimmed with emerald met her gaze.

"You will be okay, my dear" the voice spoke before disappearing in a blinding light, brightening the depths of the fire that engulfed her whole.

Darkness has been her friend for a while. It surrounded her from the day she was born and would be by her side when her bones rotted into the ground.

Darkness surrounded her everywhere, with every breath she spoke, and with every word she breathed, it was a permanent ink that stuck to her skin. She ran around in

So it didn't surprise Onyx when her eyes snapped open to meet the darkness of the room, the windows open so that a cold breeze could pass through. Her body was cold and hot, sweaty and clammy as she sat upright on the bed she shared, her mind shaking from the nightmare she had just experienced.

A cold, shaky breath escaped her lips, her heart pounding so loudly inside her chest as she ran her hands down her face to wipe the sweat off, her fingers shaking as she did so. Blurry images of blood and horror and echoing of screams tore through her mind, so fast and quick that it nearly knocked the wind out of her once again.

She pondered on so many things, so many ideas but her mind drew a blank line when she couldn't find a reason to all her stomach-turning nightmares.

Drawing in calming deep breaths, golden eyes lingered over to Rheynoak, his chest moving up and down and the lower half of his body covered in the royal blue sheets.

His lips were still swollen from her teeth on his sensitive skin, his hair still disheveled from her long fingers and his back lined with thin scars of her nails scratching down his skin.

Momentarily, a blush crept up her cheeks as she remembered what they did only a few dark hours ago, the raw vulnerability of what it felt to be with someone so intimately for the first time. It was beautiful, a sensation that washed over her body in rivulets she still craved for.

It was crazy to think that after only a few months of being with him, her attraction had blossomed into something unexplainable true and deep she couldn't quite explain. The longer she searched for it, the deeper she was sucked into his depths.

A feeling she would never complain about.

Tearing her gaze away from him, her body began to shake again and the effects of the nightmares took over her mind again. A burning fire rippled through her veins and her skin burned like lava. Pulling the blanket around her body, Onyx pushed herself off the bed, careful not to wake up her lover before walking over to the balcony doors that were opened and welcoming her with a cold breeze.

Her hands gripped the iron railing of the balcony, gripping on tightly as she took deep breaths in. The royal blue sheets around her body began to slip off her chest loosely, brushing past her legs and down to the floor.

The stuttering pounding of her heart calmed as looked over the tribal grounds of Rheynoak's tribe. Not a soul lingered on the dusty, earthy ground and the only lights that twinkled brightly were the winks of the stars scattered across the midnight sky and the beams of the moon raining down.

The moon. The enemy behind a veil that revealed her true self. It has been a few months since she had undergone a very unsuspecting process of The Catalyst Oath and unlocked her true power, a powerful demi-hybrid. Ever since then, nightmares plagued her thoughts, her body cold and always shaking, and her strength and powers unbalanced.

She had already destroyed more things than she could count, nearly slicing her sword in half the other day and snapping Rheynoak's hand into two. Even gazing at her fingers right now, Onyx could tell that she was staring at a whole new person. Her skin was smoother like it had been carved from marble, new and so foreign to her body.

It didn't feel right, more stiff and tough like leather than silk and no flaws.

Running her fingers through her hair once again and holding the blanket to her chest, Onyx licked her lips and prepared herself to step back into the tribe leader's room, his bare body fast asleep on the soft sheets. Yet nausea hit her body when the sweltering heat of the room stirred an uncomfortable feeling inside her stomach.

Her stomach felt swollen shut, her throat gasping for air that she couldn't let in. A terrible, bitter feeling stirred in the back of her mouth and an irritating sensation rippled through her tongue. Grimacing, the Siphon stepped back and coughed violently, holding her stomach.

Pools of scarlet blood fell from her mouth, landing in her cupped hand. A gasp escaped her lips but was quickly cut off when another sensation tore through her body and more blood spilled from her mouth in a river, choking up her throat.

Heaving for air, the Siphon made her way across the room and into the quiet seclusion of the bathroom where she let the sheets fall from her body as she threw herself over the sink and spit blood out.

A river of blood vomited from her mouth and an unpleasant taste coated her tongue as she stood there, cold and hot and ready to faint into oblivion.

When the vomit had calmed down, Onyx took a small breath and casted her gaze over to the mirror ahead. She was dying, slowly dying on the inside. Her hair, which had grown longer in the past month, matted against her forehead with sweat, brushing past her shoulders and down to the slope of her breasts.

Her eyes were lined with purple bags and her lips were twisted into a snarl that seemed permanent. She had gotten a little frail from all the vomiting and sickness she had endured these past few months, her body seeming less curvy.

Taking deep breaths, she rested a hand on her stomach, rubbing her skin slightly. She took the contraceptive tonic as soon as she and Rheynoak were done, knowing she did not want to welcome a child into the twisted world anytime soon.

Yet, her guts were still twisted with a sickening feeling that seemed to stick to her body.

The window in the bathroom was slightly open, revealing the star-filled sky. The cotton curtains blew back, a cold breeze brushing past her skin. The silence of the night was overwhelming, even for someone as nocturnal as Onyx herself, and the fear of falling asleep seized her body awake.

When the fluttering feeling in her stomach seemed as if it had fleeted away, Onyx bent down to pick up the sheets off the floor and wrap it around her body.

Yet when she stood back up, voices of the ancient whispered in her head once again and something seemed to seize her soul, splintering it in half. A gasp of pain escaped her lips as something pushed through the boundaries of her soul, possessing her whole body.

Her eyes burned red, her lips shriveled into a purplish color. "Sanguine et igni! Sanguine et igni! et peribit!"

Blood pooled from her lips in rivers, drooling down the side of her arms and her chest. Her bones twisted underneath her skin and gave up, a reeling pain chaining her body and shattering her into pieces. She fell on to the floor in pain, her head cracking against the marble tiles.

A gasp of pain left her lips but quickly died when she shuddered before becoming still.

Soon, the sway of the cold wind lulled her body to sleep and her eyes fluttered closed, the darkness welcoming her once again.

A/N: And that is the beginning of The Septic Curse!

I am very excited about the second book and I can not wait for all of you to see the major plans and storylines and plot twists I have planned for the sequel. It's going to be epic and heartbreaking and beautiful!

Thank you guys for all your constant support. It means so much to me that you enjoy this book. I enjoy writing it and to hear your feedback always makes my day!

So tell me what your thoughts are on this chapter and don't forget to comment down below and vote if you liked it.

Until next time Lovelies!

With love, May