Darkest Risings (39 page)

After
the blood exchange was complete, they continued to stand in the circle. Uriah
felt nothing…at first. Within seconds, agony like he’d never experienced ripped
through him like talons clawing and tearing at his insides. He bit back an
anguished cry and crumpled to his knees. He barely registered that his brothers
had done the same.

He
writhed and tore at his skin, trying to get whatever poison was inside him out
while blackness dimmed his vision. His brothers’ cries echoed his own
excruciating suffering. Just as he thought he might actually pass out, the pain
began to subside into a dull, throbbing ache.

He
flopped onto his back, and the rain beat down on him, soaking through his
clothes and biting into his sensitive skin.

“Holy
son of a fucking bitch,” Aldin muttered beside him.

“Couldn’t
have said it better myself,” Uriah choked out.

“What
the hell was that?” Aiston asked.

“I
think the better question is what the hell have we done?” Ashe said hoarsely.

“I
don’t know, but I have a feeling it’s going to be one long, bumpy ride.” Uriah
clenched his fists at his sides. He reached deep for control to tamp down the
blackness that suddenly swirled in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole.

One
long, bumpy ride was putting it mildly.

The End