Kane's hands dropped from Cyrus's hair.
"You spent weeks hiding from this." His voice came out flat. "Brought me to this island to keep me safe. Now you want to do exactly what Elias planned?"
"The circumstances changed—"
"Because I'm dying?" Kane pushed back, putting space between them on the cool tile. "So your solution is to hand Elias everything he wants on a silver platter?"
Cyrus remained kneeling, shoulders rigid.
"The Crystal's power could stabilize your core. Purge the synthetic compound before it destroys you from within."
"Or it could consume us both." Kane's nine tails lashed against the floor. "You said yourself the ritual requires dragon blood, all five shards, and a vessel. Last time anyone tried this, the Spirit Realm collapsed."
"I'm aware."
"Then why—" Kane's breath caught as understanding slammed into him.
"Because I couldn't think of anything else."
Cyrus's voice came out raw, stripped of every carefully constructed defense.
