Page 77 of Heiress of Fire

“Yes, it is, Ron. If I don’t do it then who will?” Davina asked.

He only shook his head.

“You said you would understand. You said that you’d fight with us. Why are you being like this?” Davina questioned.

Ron turned to face her with his nostrils flaring and his face reddening. “Do you have any idea the torture I went through in my mind, seeing you bleeding out from a wound in your chest? What do you think went on in my head?”

Davina sighed. She couldn’t blame him for that.

“Are you going to protect them the same way you try to protect me?”

Ron remained silent, rubbing his temple. Ron lied to her, he promised he would understand. He never intended to accept her choice to fight as Captain. He didn’t have to be this protective, yet he chose to desert his team when they needed him. Like he said he would that day at the library.

“Okay, then, let’s say I listen to you,” she began. Ron looked up to meet her gaze, her heart throbbed with just one of his glances. She didn’t know how she was going to do this. “Let’s say I give up my position as Captain and because of that we lose the war. Raven puts her hands on my siblings, and something happens to them. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to bring them back to life if they die?”

He simply stared out at her with a clenched jaw and fists.

“Can’t you try for just one moment to get out of that self-centered part of your mind?”

“No,” he answered at last.

“No, what?” she snapped.

“No, I would not protect them the same way that I would protect you. No one matters more to me than you do. I’d rather be known as selfish and keep you alive than be selfless and end up finding you dead.”

He did not just say that. There is no life she would live without her siblings.

Fire rocketed inside of her sockets and her eyes burned bright violet. Her vision was surrounded with lavender as her fists crackled in flames. Specks of her flames flew out of her eyes and sizzled onto the wooden panels beside her. And for some reason, she could feel the stitches popping off her skin as her wounds closed.

“Then you can forget all about me!” she echoed.

“Davina,” Ron said with widened eyes, he took fast steps toward her. Davina immediately stepped away from him, closing her eyes, and pulling in her fire.

Usually, it was Ron who was her anchor. He always brought her back whenever she was flying too high. Whenever her thoughts would spiral, he was the one to bring her back and calm her down. It was always him who knew what to say. He knew how to comfort her, but now he had become a reason for consolation.

But she was an Almenara and now she would live up to her reputation of destroying.

“Just stop, Ron. I’m going to do this, whether you like it or not. Even if you decide to reject your call to war, I’ll still be found on the front lines. Even if I must put some distance between us.”

“Vivi, don’t do this,” he pleaded.

Her chest heaved as her lips forcefully curved down. She couldn’t let herself cry at this moment. She needed to be strong to do this.

Strong enough to break his heart.

She closed her eyes, finding herself incapable of looking at him as she ripped his heart open.

“I think I have an idea of the woman that you want me to be. I can’t be who you want me to be,” she whispered. “I can’t be the perfect bride who sits by the window in a nice dress, waiting for her husband to come home. I need this war, I need to fight. I need to do something with my life.”

Davina decided it best to flee as fast as possible. The heavyweight in her chest had grown due to her decision. Reminding herself that she had to do it for herself and him

“That’s not what I expect you to be, Davina. I want you to be your own person, and have your own goals and choices. I just need time to get used to the idea of you doing this,” he excused.

His lie angered her even more. He’d already said that before.

“What you need is to make your godforsaken abilities activate,” she spat.

His lips formed a thin line as he realized what she had said.

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