Page 67 of Incoronate
I could feel Trace move closer on my other side, his presence pressing against my consciousness through the anchor bond. He was trying to reach me, trying to push past the voices and create some kind of foothold I could grab onto.
But the Horsemen pushed back harder.
…The birth is near…
…We must end this now…
My back arched off the bed, every muscle in my body straining as another wave of compulsion crashed through me. The need to go. To hunt. To kill. It wasn’t a suggestion anymore. It was a command carved into my bones.
Dominic’s grip on my face tightened, his fingers digging into my jaw. “Look at me, angel. Only at me. Block everything else out.”
But I couldn’t see him. Not really. His face kept blurring in and out of focus, the edges of him bleeding into shadows thatweren’t actually there. Shadows that moved and writhed and whispered promises of purpose.
…You were recreated for this…
…Forged in darkness for a singular destiny…
…Come. Now…
A scream tore from my throat as I bucked against the restraints with renewed violence. The headboard shook, wood creaking under the strain. I could hear myself making sounds, animalistic and desperate, but they didn’t feel like they were coming from me.
I could feel Trace’s panic spiking through the open bond. Could feel him reaching for me, trying desperately to anchor me, but the connection was fraying like a rope being burned through from the other end. The Horsemen’s call was too strong, drowning out everything else.
“Hold her down,” said Dominic, his voice still controlled even as I felt his own fear bleeding through the cracks.
Trace was already moving, his hands pressing down on my shoulders as Dominic tried to pin my legs. But I was stronger than I should have been. Stronger than I’d ever been before. The Horsemen’s power flooded through me, amplifying everything, burning away every limit my body should have respected.
I nearly threw Trace off entirely, my body twisting with inhuman strength.
“Fight it, Jemma. I know you can do it.” Trace’s voice was strained but controlled. “Just hold on. We’ve got you.”
My wrists pulled violently against the cuffs. The metal cut deeper, drawing blood, but the pain barely registered. All I could feel was the pull. The overwhelming, suffocating need to obey.
“She’s not responding.” Trace’s hands tightened on my shoulders, struggling to keep me still. Through the bond, Icould feel his desperation warring with his determination to stay strong for me. To not let me see how scared he was for me.
But I could feel it anyway. Could feel both of them struggling to hold onto me as I slipped further away.
Dominic leaned closer, his compulsion bleeding into his words. “Listen to my voice. Only my voice. You are not theirs. You’reours.”
His power crashed over me in a second wave, trying to override the Horsemen’s call. To drown it out. For a moment—just a moment—I felt the briefest flicker of clarity. Saw his face clearly. Saw the fear and desperation in his dark eyes that he was fighting so hard to hide.
But then the Horsemen pushed back, and the clarity shattered.
...They know nothing...
...They keep you weak...
...They will make you fail...
The chains groaned as I pulled against them with everything I had. Blood dripped down my wrists where the metal cuffs had cut, but I barely felt it. All I felt was the need. The hunger. The call.
Submit.
Obey.
Kill.
My back arched off the bed again, every muscle straining as the whispers crescendoed into a roar that threatened to split my skull open. Trace was still trying to hold me down without hurting me, but I could feel him losing ground with every passing second. Could feel both of them struggling as I fought against the chains and their hands with the same animal violence.
