Page 108 of Forging Darkness

I move forward and into the blaze. The heat buffers against my skin like soft kisses, the flames wrap around me like an embrace, and it isn’t long before I’m standing only feet from Steel’s tormented body.

I have no idea what is going on. Nor do I have any idea what to do.

Kneeling in the sand next to him, I run a finger over his palm, whispering his name. His eyes pop open on a gasp. Teal oceans churn within his irises, and I grasp his hand, my breath caught in my lungs.

Something seeps from his pores and starts to rise, creating a black and gray cloud above his body, but still holding his shape. It twitches and arches along with Steel’s movements until at once, Steel’s body relaxes. The shadowy form above him releases an unholy scream that tears at my eardrums before bursting and raining ash down on Steel’s body.

“Emberly?” he croaks, blinking up at me. His skin carries a healthy golden hue. The fangs indenting his bottom lip are gone and his hair . . . is still a matted nasty mess, but the rest of him is completely restored.

The inferno I created has dissipated. The ground below us is now a giant plate of cooling glass.

This time, I don’t care that he’s dirty and bloody and covered in gore.

I rain kisses over his face. Across his high cheekbones. His scruffy chin. His eyelids and even his eyebrows before he becomes frustrated, grabbing the sides of my face and directing me exactly where he wants me.

When our lips connect, a whole new fire is lit. It swirls between us, building in intensity. I swear I see fireworks behind my closed lids, but still it’s not enough. My mind craves more confirmation that he’s come back to me alive and well and for good.

At some point Steel wraps an arm around me and pulls me down so I’m resting on his chest. His hand tangles in my hair, catching on the knots and snarls, but the feeling of his soft lips against mine forces away the pinpricks of pain.

This moment, this one right here, is the one I never want to end. But it has to.

With a herculean effort, I pull back from Steel. His eyes blaze with irritation, and I bite my lip to keep from smiling. All it does is direct Steel’s gaze back to my mouth, which is . . . distracting.

Also distracting? The ear-shredding screams and shrieks from the arena.

Our eyes widen as we come back to ourselves and reluctantly force ourselves to stand.

Some trained warriors we are. Making out in the middle of a battle is a sure-fire way to get yourself dead fast.

Worth it.

“Where’s the seraph?”

I shake my head, not knowing how to explain. Now’s not the time for the long version anyway. “Gone.”

“Thorne?”

“Not here.” I’m distracted when I answer because none of the Forsaken or Fallen are attacking us. In fact, they’re all fleeing. The Fallen with wings fly clear of Whitehold altogether. The others stampede over themselves for the exits. “What’s going on?”

“They’re scared of you.”

“Me? Why? Up until now, they all wanted to nom-nom my flesh or wear it like a prom dress.”

Steel waits until he can hold my gaze. “I didn’t fight my way free. I tried. I really did. But it wasn’t going to happen. You blasted Legion—me—with pure, raw angel-fire. You literally burned the Fallen out of me.” His eyes sweep over me as if for the first time. “If there was any question about your parentage, it’s gone now. Only seraphs have the ability to wield pure angel-fire. And there’s never been a being alive who could restore a Forsaken. They’re scared of your power. Scared you’re going to burn through them like you did me.”

“Well, that’s food for thought, but later.”

“Agreed.”

I turn a slow circle, making sure enemies aren’t sneaking up on us, but the coliseum is almost completely cleared now.

“We need to free the humans and figure out how to bring them with us,” Steel says.

“No we don’t,” I say, using my eyes to convey the sorrow of their fate.

He presses his lips together so tightly they almost disappear. His hands fist, but he gives a curt nod to let me know he understands.

“Can you shift into an eagle? Flying is the only way we’re going to make it out of here. And we need to do it fast, before they realize I can’t duplicate whatever mojo I used on you. At least not without getting super-charged again. Eventually one of them is going to get up the nerve to challenge me.”

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