Page 54 of Court of Secrets and Flames

The hairs on my arms stand on end. The book is almost in my reach, yet I can’t seem to close my fingers around it. I stretch my arms and focus on my hands. I have to grasp my future. I’m so close now…just a little bit more and?—

Inky blackness descends, as if an immense shadow swallowed the light. I wrench my gaze upward, yet all I see above me is an empty void. Movement crawls along the edge of the darkness.

I shift my gaze, only to witness the south wall, once so solid and reassuring, begin its ruinous collapse. Groaning stones surrender to gravity, igniting panic within me. Dust blooms, clogging the air even as the darkness spreads, enveloping all.

Though the world disappears from sight, I can still feel it crumble around me, burying me beneath an avalanche. Rubble slams into the space between my shoulder blades, zapping my with pain.

Each breath is a strained agony that crushes my spine, stealing the light and extinguishing hope. The pressure stunts my breath and ability to move.

“Help me!” I scream myself hoarse, thrashing against the imprisoning debris.

In the periphery of this nightmare, I sense the presence of those I love. Knox, with his expressive eyes. Leesa, with her unwavering loyalty. Mother, despite the hurt feelings I nurse. Olive. And the faces of classmates who’ve shared the skies with me, like Nick and Abel from my flight unit and Zephyr, myalicorn. Yet, their forms are mere wraiths in the dust, oblivious to my plight.

“Please.” I whisper.

I’m alone, abandoned in the dark. None come to my aid. No one frees me from this earthen tomb.

As the archives continue their relentless descent into ruin, the pain in my back grows. Despair settles on my chest, heavier than the stone and lumber that pin me.

“Knox…” His name is a talisman, a fading spark of hope in the all-encompassing gloom. But even he cannot penetrate the silence that has become my prison.

The dream’s phantoms fade, but the agony in my back is a cruel anchor to reality. Tears streak down my cheeks as I claw at the sheets, each twitch setting off fresh, rippling spasms.

Between sobs, I struggle to sit upright, attempting to summon the strength that carried me skyward just hours ago. As my hands search the small of my back, seeking assurance that I am indeed free from the crushing weight of that nightmare, the door to my chamber bursts open with enough force to herald an invasion.

Chapter Seventeen

Knox stands tall in the threshold, wild-eyed and panting. “What happened?”

“You didn’t have?—”

Another spasm cuts me off, a vice forcing the breath from my lungs.

My cry is involuntary, a sound of raw vulnerability I’d never want him to witness. Before, I thought these aches were related to hard physical training at Flighthaven. If that’s true, though, why is the pain suddenly so much worse?

“Are you hurt?” His hand rests on his sword hilt as his gaze sweeps across my room. “Is someone here?”

“No, no. I’m…” Words fail me as I swipe at my face with the bedclothes, desperate to appear stronger than I feel. “It’s…”

His eyes stop moving, then widen as he takes in the bed.

I follow his gaze to the scorch marks branding my sheets. A testament to turmoil even sleep can’t escape. I’m suddenly thankful for this new room’s woolen covers, even if they were a bit too heavy for such a warm night.

“Did you lose control of your fire in your sleep?” His posture softens, and his tone shifts from alarm to something softer, more intimate.

“Not…exactly. I had a dream. It seemed so real.” As I try to shift, another gripping wave of pain seizes me. “Oh gods.”

He leans over, brushing his knuckles against my cheek. “Don’t move. Just tell me what hurts.”

“My back. I’m sure it will pass.”

I attempt to shrug off his worry. Big mistake. The motion spikes me with a searing pain that steals my breath and anchors me to the bed. Flashes of the buried archives, the crushing darkness, interlace with the present agony.

“Wait here.” Without any explanation, he veers toward the bathing chamber.

Seconds pass without another spasm, and I muster another attempt to rise. The pain lashes out, fierce as dragonfire.

It robs me of movement. Of air.

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