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Thick gray sludge oozed across the stone, bubbling as the mist swallowed it.

That came out of me?

What did that mean for my insides? Was there anything left?

Ash’s hand rested on my arm, helping me up. “Rae?”

“I don’t feel good,” I whispered.

Zeke gagged into his hand, and Cyn caught his arm as a nearby guard backed off. Ezra’s shoulders trembled and sweat slid down his temples.

Ash’s chest heaved as he tried to steady me.

Before I could unpack why they seemed ill too, I doubled over again, expelling another bout of acidic sludge that seared my tongue and lips.

“Something’s wrong,” Cornaith said. “Do something!”

I didn’t know who he was yelling at, but his voice grated on my frayed nerves.

“I just need to…” A wave of dizziness swept me under, and I collapsed into Ash’s lap, unable to hold myself up. His trembling fingers brushed the hair from my forehead.

Ash looked at the council. “We’ve been sick for days.”

Lymsrana stepped forward. “What about her?”

“The human has also seemed unwell throughout her detainment,” Ranthus said behind us.

I moaned as another wave of nausea swept through me and I broke out in a cold sweat.

“What are they?”

I tried to see what Lymsrana was looking at, but my body felt weighed down by lead.

Cornaith snarled, “Don’t let them touch her!”

Before anyone could move, my three shadow friends circled the altar.

They crouched, swaying side to side as if assessing me from all angles. Faint chittering slipped through the black haze that surrounded them.

The smallest approached first, stopping only inches from my face.

Ash growled; the sound made me shiver.

“They won’t hurt me,” I whispered, struggling to speak.

His hand tightened on my shoulder as I rested on his lap.

The little infernal touched my face. I’d never touched them before, but I hadn’t expected it to feel soft like a marshmallow.

I grimaced, drawing my knees up to my chest.

The two behind the little one chittered louder, and it hissed at them before pressing its fingers to my forehead. The others joined us—one circling behind me to place its hands on my hip and shoulder blade, while the other held my legs.

Cornaith approached, hand extended. My shadow friends angled toward him, hissing. He recoiled when the smoke around their bodies flared and lashed out in warning.

“She’s controlling them,” Ardvaen said, waving at the guards. “Stop her!”

Three guards approached, but the largest shadow infernal extended an arm. Angry tendrils snapped like whips, stopping them in their tracks.