Page 106 of Of Flame and Fate

I rub my eyes, remembering Misha’s howls and how he futilely beat the flames with his hands.

“It looked female,” Hank mutters, more afraid to tell Misha than Aric. “But it was hard to know for sure.”

Misha scans the area, his attention skipping over every one of his vampires. They all shake their heads, allowing Agnes to answer for them. “We only saw the burning skulls, Master.” She lifts her chin. “But Hank was closest to you. It could be the reason he witnessed more than we did.”

Aric doesn’t move, neither does Celia. Gemini stalks forward, menace spilling from him like blood from a fresh kill. “Misha tried to save her,” I reiterate. “I saw him.”

“And did he?” Aric asks.

The words are hard to say. “No. Her skulls were among those burning.”

“Was it me?”

Celia asks the one question none of us dare ask.

“I don’t know,” Misha answers.

Aric’s focus jerks to me. “I can’t be sure either,” I answer.

“She’s a golden tigress,” Aric points out. “Her markings are distinct. How can you not know?”

“The flames had already stripped her of her fur when I reached her,” Misha answers.

A bomb could have fallen from the sky and destroyed everything around us, and the aftermath still wouldn’t have been as quiet as we are now.

“I’m not sure Misha was there,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Aric asks frowning. “He told you he was and you saw him.”

“I know, but . . .” I cover my face, it’s only then I feel the bruise forming where Agnes slapped me awake. I release my hands slowly. “With the exception of me lifting the skull, this vision was almost exactly the same as the one I had at the concert. Everything was on fire and the entire area reduced to nothing but flames and ash. But it’s like Misha didn’t belong there. I put him there.” I meet his face. “Or maybe his magic did. Did you feel the flames, or the heat?”

He doesn’t immediately answer, appearing to give it a great deal of thought. “No. I couldn’t feel her.”

“You mean Celia,” Aric states.

He and Misha stare each other down. It’s not in challenge. It’s because neither want to believe that was really her.

“It could have been another tiger,” Edith Anne interjects. She kicks at the ground. “Even without fur the master would have known if she was pregnant.”

Her words cut off and she withdraws at the sight of Misha’s glare. Edith isn’t an easy vampire to like. She’s selfish and spoiled. But in her own way, she likes Celia and is trying to offer us hope.

“My apologies, Master.” She turns to face Celia, her expression one I can’t read and one I don’t recognize on her. “None of us want Celia to die.”

“She wasn’t pregnant,” Misha says. “That I’m certain of.”

Celia edges away. “Good,” she says. “At least the baby was safe.”

Which means her babies will live even if she doesn’t.

I veer away, swiping my tears and march to where Johnny sits on one of the benches. “Did you see the flames? The skulls, everything?”

He looks to Misha, horror riddling his features. “I saw everything,” he says, making it clear he saw more of Misha than he intended.

“Call the grandmaster, the head witches, and Omar,” Misha orders. A vamp takes off toward the house. Misha stops in front of Aric who is seconds away from destroying the entire compound. “The Alliance needs to be informed.” His focus drops to Celia. “It’s the only way we can prevent this madness.”

He storms away. I follow, or at least try to, practically running to keep up with him. “The vamps didn’t see the snow,” I mutter, trying to speak in code.

“No,” he says.

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