Page 60 of From Frost to Flame

“I’ll simply have you both.”

In a yank, they were tugged into the fire. An indescribable burn wrapped around him, searing his skin. The loud sound of splitting wood was deafening but, through it all, he heard only Lex’s pained cries. Brimstone, burning wood, and saltwater choked his senses. Thick smoke filled his nose and scratched his lungs like he had swallowed a million little needles. “Lex, I’ve got you, okay?” Just saying his name was like razor blades on Silas's throat and lungs, but he needed him to know he was still there. That he would always be there.

Abruptly, all the heat vanished. The tentacles were gone, and they were sitting in a shallow inky pool about two inches deep.

Lex screamed through clenched teeth and held himself. The magic of the toga Silas had wrapped around him had protected him from most of the flames, but his hands and face were still scorched.

Silas was sure going from snow to flames and now this freezing water was sending Lex into shock. He snatched Lexout of the water and into his lap like a child who had found a lost doll. He wrapped his arms around him and leaned into his neck. Lex’s lavender-scented skin and the light pulse of his fragile heartbeat made Silas gasp in relief. “What hurts?”

“I think she bruised my ribs. It hurts a little to breathe, but I’ll be okay,” Lex said in a weak voice as he looked up at Silas with eyes barely open and touched his face. The pads of his fingertips were raw from the flames. “I knew you wouldn’t let go.”

“I shouldn’t have left you up there. I shouldn’t have gotten distracted. I don’t know where we are, but I promise I’ll keep you safe. I promise.” He scanned the strange place for any sign of her, but thick gray fog surrounded them. He couldn’t see anything past Lex in his arms.

Lex tilted his head up into the fog. “There.”

Silas didn’t understand at first but then he spotted it. The glowing gem floated above them in the dark. “Okay, so she put it up in the clouds somehow. Great. Wherever we are, we need to get up there to go home. Hold onto me while I look for a way up.”

“I can’t stay awake and hold you too long without blood.” Lex closed his eyes. “You have to leave me.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“I think I’m going to faint.”

“You can do this.” Panic gripped his throat. He knew Lex was slipping away and needed blood but staying in one place with The Ravenous One so close wasn’t an option. “I need you to stay with me. You can bite me while I climb if you have to.”

The fog ahead of them parted, creating a clear narrow walkway. At the end of it was a swirling portal of blue flames.

“So protective.” The Ravenous One chuckled as she emerged from the fire and glided over the ink. She left patches of ice in her wake like stepping stones. “It’s almost sweet to see you like this.”

Lex was rigid with fear as he stared at her. “What do we do?”

Silas growled, holding Lex so tight he was sure he left bruises over his already battered body. “I warned you to never touch him.”

“You warned her?” Lex repeated, confused.

“Later,” he said, not looking at him. He didn’t dare take his eyes off her. “Why couldn’t you listen to me for once? Just this once.”

“You are working to kill me. Surely you can respect that I may retaliate.” She peered down at Lex and scowled. “All this chaos for this weakling. I should have killed the little scavenger when you first got involved.” Her black lips curled into a smile as she met Silas's eyes. “I sensed you slipping while you were rolling around with the fae. I see my arrow is doing its job. It felt good to graze your fingers against your potential, didn’t it?”

“Shut up!” He knew the response was childish, but she always made him this way. She stripped his control with a well-placed insult.

“What is she talking about?”

“Lex, not now.” Silas held him tighter as he glared at her.

“If I end him now, you’ll be free, you know. No mate means no deadly bonds. No need to race against the ticking clock to bite him or whatever unrefined thing the wolves taught you to do.” He went silent, and she cackled, pleased with herself. “Oh, my little wolf’s secret is out, and he’s all upset. You hid the fact that he was your mate pretty well, but the way you fawn over him gave you away. I understand he’s made you irrational, so I’m willing to forgive you. Let me kill him so I can set you free, and we can put this all behind us. You’re too blinded to see he’s hijacked your mind.”

“You are the only person I need freedom from.”

“Always so ungrateful. Have it your way. I won’t touch your little plaything. He’ll be dead soon anyway. To kill him would waste my energy, and I don’t want to be dragged back to Tartarus yet. Not before we finish our chat.” She stretched a tentacle and brushed the tip against Lex’s face, making him shiver. “I am, however, going to punish this insolence. I’m going to make him walk away from you. Maybe with some separation, you’ll wake up and see how ridiculous this whole tantrum you’re throwing is. When he leaves, you’ll beg me to kill him so you can live.”

She glided past him, and a trailing tentacle licked Silas's cheek playfully as she went.

He stayed on guard, searching the fog for hidden danger. “We can’t trust her. She doesn’t walk away from anything. Something is coming.”

On cue, colors bloomed throughout the foggy void and swirled like mixing paints until a living landscape surrounded them. A village busy with werewolves going in and out of shops and houses appeared. The outline of shadowy pine trees in the distance surrounded the city, their edges faded into the white fog that filled this void.

Vomit rose in his throat as he recognized the awful place.No. No, no, no.

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