Page 39 of Heat of the Everflame

“What are you doing?”

A woman approached, gaping at me in horror. Her eyes locked on the bomb’s fuse as it sparked and caught fire.

“Run,” she screamed. “She’s got a bomb!”

As she fled back into camp, I gingerly set the vessel on the soil, my heartbeat racing faster with each burnt inch of the fuse.

I followed the woman’s path. “Bomb,” I repeated, keeping my hood low and the unlit explosive tucked beneath my cloak. “Take cover!”

A wave of brown eyes, centered by a pair of blue-grey, snapped my direction.

“Bomb!” I yelled again. “Everyone, r—”

The forest exploded before they got the chance.

The fiery burst sent me flying face-first into the soil. Muffled ringing filled my ears while shrapnel of charred bark shot through the air. A fog of smoke and burning embers rolled into the clearing.

The Guardians scattered like ants. Some fled into the forest, others ran for their tents, and a few brave souls pulled their weapons and charged toward the site of the explosion.

Cordellia’s authoritative voice cut through the commotion. “Round up the children and injured, get them to the beach. Archers, to the trees. Prepare the ballista—if the gryvern is back, let’s be ready.”

I clenched my jaw at her order, thankful Sorae was far away in Lumnos. On hands and knees, I crawled toward Luther as boots scurried in frantic circles and blocked him from my view.

A woman crouched at my side and put a gentle hand on my arm. “Are you alright?”

I swatted her away. “You should go.”

She kneeled and reached for my hood. “Were you injured in the blast? I can h—”

“Diem!”

I jerked upright at the sound of Luther’s shout. Through a break in the swarm, I spied four Guardians dragging him away, their blades inches from his skin.

“Y-you...” the woman stammered, scrambling backward.

“I won’t hurt you,” I promised. I raised my palms in innocence, but as I did, the second bomb dropped from under my arm and tumbled to the grass in front of me.

She let out a blood-curdling scream. “Bomb!The Queen has a bomb!”

I swore and snatched the explosive, then shot to my feet. With her shouts at my back, I ran to the campfire and lit the second fuse, then reared my arm back and prepared to throw.

My gaze crossed with Cordellia’s. Her brown eyes flared wide with recognition of who I was and what I had done.

“Diem,” she warned. “Don’t.”

But the fuse was short, and there was no time left for apologies. I hurled the bomb toward the tree line and ran.

Chapter

Ten

Imade it to Luther just in time for the second explosion.

The Guardians dropped him and dove for cover, while Luther threw himself on top of me to shield my body from the blast. Streams of fiery wood rained down on a field of flaming debris.

I wriggled out from beneath his weight, then pulled the dagger Taran had given me and slashed through the ropes binding Luther’s wrists. He growled as his hands fell free, a vicious predator uncaged at last.

My breath caught as he pulled me into his arms. Our lips came together like a surging wave on a rocky break, two unstoppable forces undeterred by the violence closing in on all sides.

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