done chewing out Brother Ailwin, everyone was snappish.
"Right, we got off track," I said, trying to look as badass as Alec. "But the fact remains that I will not let Bael's power pass through me, so you might as well just give it up."
Unhappily for my plan, Ailwin looked anything but worried. In fact, he shrugged and, with a petulant look at Alec, smoothed out the collar of his shirt. "You would destroy yourself if you were to try that."
Alec -
No ! I forbid you to even try that. Now we will do this my way. "Let go of my Beloved and I will not destroy you," he said in a conversational voice to the monk holding me.
"Brother Godwin would not be so foolish as to do that," Brother Ailwin said, nodding to the spotty man who held me. "Perhaps a little demonstration of how serious I am to possess the Tool is in order. You may use her to destroy the Dark One, Brother."
"Jesus wept!" I swore at the same moment Alec lunged toward me.
The same sense of standing in a river swept over me, and I knew the monk was pulling on the power of Bael. I also know that it was directed at Alec, and that I absolutely could not allow.
You will not sacrifice yourself for me! he yelled into my head.
I'm not going to let you suffer any more, Alec. You've done enough of that. I wrapped my arms around myself as the power built and built within me, wanting to escape me, wanting to flow out of me and nail Alec in the chest. I fought it, spinning it around and around inside me, trying to contain it, but knowing in my heart that I hadn't the strength to do so for long.
Brother Godwin dropped me as I curled up on myself in an attempt to hold back the power, and sneered, "You will only destroy yourself, Tool. Release the power!"
"Never!" I panted, writhing on the ground with the agony of the still-building power. Alec reached me just as the second monk threw himself on his back, sending both men to the floor. Kristoff started forward to help, but Brother Ailwin screamed something about Pia, his dagger glinting as he jumped over the ottoman toward her.
Eleanor yelled god alone knew what, dancing around on the fringe, waving a vase and threatening pretty much all of us.
Inside me, the pressure continued to grow, pain lacing every breath as I struggled to hold it back. I felt like a stuffed potato in a pressure cooker, my entire body twisting upon itself as I screamed in anguish.
Corazon! We must Join! Now!
This is not really the moment for this!
If we don't, you'll die!
Jesus wept! It hurts, Alec! I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold it. Get out of here! If I lose control, it'll destroy you!
Alec, whom I could barely see through the tears that blurred my eyes, was fighting like a madman with the monk. In the middle of clawing desperately at the floor to reach me despite the monk trying to bash his head on the floor, he did something that boggled what was left of my mind - rather than biting the monk and draining him of his blood, he bit his own thumb, then with a tremendous effort dragged himself and the monk toward me. Take my blood, Cora. You must take it to complete the Joining.
I didn't argue the point. I didn't question my need to obey his command. I didn't even debate with myself the wisdom of taking a step that I knew would change the course of my life forever. I'd already made that choice. I rolled over toward Alec, kicking out at Brother Godwin as I did so, every last atom of my body in torment with the need to fight the power. My control started to slip just as Alec's hand loomed before my blurred eyes. I opened my mouth, praying the few drops of blood on his thumb would be enough.
As the blood touched my tongue, the power surged within me, spelling certain death to Alec. I screamed an oath of vengeance as I made one last, desperate attempt to turn it back onto myself. "Hide!" I yelled at Alec. For the love of the saints, hide from it!
My back arched as the power broke free, pouring out of me, slamming into the man in front of me before sucking me down into an