Page 141 of Heiress of Fire

Come back to me.

How was she going to come back? She was about to force hundreds of Predators to come after her. She was determined to bring as many as possible to Obsidian Canyon, freeing the way for the others to transport as many people as possible onto Castellum.

Castellum being a large enough island, capable of harboring almost all Bellatormans. With the death tolls having risen in the past couple of months, perhaps all the citizens would fit into the castle.

Davina made her violet fire fall over the Predators that stood near the Neptulus Bridge. A great pleasure rejoiced her knowing that she was making them suffer the way that her people had suffered for centuries. Davina laughed loudly for the Main Predators to hear.

Their heads whipped up, immediately spotting her shining wings of fire surrounded by the night. Davina sent more piles of fire to descend upon them. She aimed for their feet, their weapons, and their heads. If she was going to die, she might as well die having fun.

These Predators were not controlled by Raven, only by their greed for power. These Predators had a mind of their own, they hadn’t been possessed by Raven’s control. They served Raven out of free will. So, she allowed herself to delve into being able to hurt them for hurting Bellatorm.

“After her!” they yelled. Davina snapped her stare toward the next Bridge and aimed dozens of fireballs to land over the Main Predators. “Get her!”

Davina then made fire rain upon Basalt Bridge, careful not to cause too much damage to the already cracked stone Bridges. Angry shouts filled her ears, and a pang of fear hit her as she saw the hundreds of Predators flying atop their dark clouds after her. Davina scanned the islands, hoping that there weren’t any other Predators by the Bridges.

The majority was already after her, her friends could take care of the others before Raven sent another set of garrisons to the Bridges.

Davina swooshed enroute to Auris Island. Her flames crackled brighter, melting the skin of the Predators who stood near. She watched as they fell and crashed into one another. Some of them fell dead to the floor as those who received minimal burns flew after her.

She slowed, twirling in the air, her wings pushing her further into Auris.

She’d been nearing Obsidian Canyon when metal objects swooshed past her peripheral. She turned her gaze to find daggers slicing past her and falling. Davina spun in the air, dodging their arrows and knives.

Hissing when the sharp blade hit one of her wings, only to find it melting against her violet flames.

Davina’s shadow cast upon the ashy mountains.

A shriek ripped from her throat. Davina looked down and found her blood pooling at her torso, covering her lavender tunic with a deep scarlet. She began to wobble, losing her balance in midair. She felt herself beginning to fall, alarm filled her mind as she saw the steep mountains nearing her vision. Her fall was inevitable, but it would cause more damage to her than what the Predators had done. Despite the sharp pain along her torso, she prepped herself for a harsh landing.

Davina put her wings away, she flew faster and closer to the rocky plane beneath her. Then she curled herself inward. As she made it to the mountain, she rolled onto her back. Her bones hurt from the contact with the rough mountain.

She groaned.

She had to get up, the Predators were close. Before she had even made it to the Canyon, she had been almost certain that she was going to die, but now it felt too real.

As her skin ripped open from having scraped so harshly against the stones beneath her, she couldn’t help but hear Ron’s voice in her mind.

There’s so much we haven’t lived.

The only life she knew was one of war. War against her parents, against her mind, and war against Raven. That wasn’t life. It couldn’t be. Life couldn’t just have been troubles and more problems. Life was meant to be more.

That was when she realized that she hadn’t lived at all. She wanted a life of peace and happiness, and she wanted a taste of it.

She wanted to truly live. No more surviving. No more pessimism. No more of the weight of the world over her shoulders. She wanted to live. Davina wanted to see her siblings grow into successful Bellatormans. She wanted to be a part of their lives.

As much as she knew she was around for most of their childhood, Davina felt like she hadn’t been a part of anything. She wanted to meet Val and Beacon’s future children. She wanted to see Cara flourish in her new business. She wanted to keep seeing Leilani and Caleb fight for the dumbest reasons ever. Davina even wanted to hear Snow’s snarky comments.

Life shouldn’t just be about suffering. It was about enjoying. It wasn’t about surviving, it was about living.

And then Ron. Ron had so much good that he wanted to offer to her. The only way to get to that point in her life was by getting out of this Canyon. So, she made her choice.

And she chose to live. Davina struggled against her heavy bones as she crawled to her feet. Her muscles strained and her wound throbbed. She applied pressure against the gash at her side.

“Davina!”

She’d heard that voice before. She frantically searched for an escape. The Predators were getting close and in her state, she wouldn’t be able to fight them off.

“There you are,” a voice snarled.

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