Page 295 of Heat of the Everflame

I was tired, frantic, overwhelmed. Wounds throbbed in every limb, and fresh blood—mine, theirs—painted a crimson carpetat my feet. Pain became such a constant I could no longer distinguish between the damage I took on and the damage I dealt.

“Kill her already,” the High General roared.

He bent his fingers in a twisting knot. A trio of mortals screamed in agony as their bodies disintegrated to a stinking muck.

Something snapped inside me.

My heart went numb. Darkness clouded my vision, brought on by my fury and my weakened state. It felt as if all my goodness and love had withered alongside those mortals and left me with a core full of rot.

If this was my end, I’d go down in a blaze—and I’d be taking someone with me.

My glare narrowed on the High General.

End yourself.

His eyes turned glassy and vacant. The sword dropped from his hand.

I sent the last ounce of my magic in a harsh burst of air that sent the mortals flying. My shadow swords dissolved, and the hollow in my chest consumed me at last.

Though the High General’s face was slack, doom thrashed behind his gaze. My lips curled in a cold, malicious smile.

My conscience tugged at my sleeve, its quiet voice whimpering for me to stay my hand. But even if I wanted to—and I wasn’t sure I did—I had no magic left to rewrite his gruesome fate.

His quivering fingers pulled a small knife sheathed at his waist and brought its edge to his throat.

The mortals had recovered from my final blast. They angrily climbed back to their feet, no longer needing any encouragement to want me dead. They raised their swords and ran toward me.

I had no weapons, no magic.

No allies.

No hope.

Only darkness. Onlydeath.

A grim acceptance settled through me.

The soldiers were shouting something—one word, over and over again—but it was lost in a cacophony of voices and wingbeats and bootfalls.

The battlefield faded away, leaving only me and a red-eyed High General whose pleading stare I held as blood splashed across his chest.

A shadow passed over me. Loose hairs tickled my cheeks with a sudden breeze blowing at my back.

The soldiers stopped advancing. And looked up.

“Gryvern!”

Something jerked me backward. My stomach dropped with a weightless flutter as the world became a falling, spinning blur.

I went slack, paralyzed by confusion. Where were the soldiers? Where was theground?

“Diem—grab my hand.”

The growling command cut through the chaos. It was a voice my heart trusted so completely, my body obeyed before my mind understood. My arm stretched up until my fingers brushed against warm, coarse skin, and I clutched it like a leash to life itself.

An arm curled around my waist and dragged me up against a wall of steel-hard flesh.

“You’re safe,” the voice rumbled in my ear, breathless and rough. A second arm braced across my shoulders and caged me in. “I’m here. You’re safe.”

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