Page 67 of Bound in Flames

I could hear her breathing coming in harsh gasps as she pushed more power into the earth. The roots twist around the shadows, holding them long enough for blades to cut themdown. I caught a glimpse of her face—so different from the uncertain woman I’d first met. Now, she was something fierce, bloodthirsty and unbreakable, and even at the brink of defeat, I’d fight beside her, bound by a fire that no darkness could extinguish.

The ground shook beneath us as the Shadows pressed in, but we held our ground, side by side, the bond between us pulsing like a second heartbeat. My war cry rang across the wall as I swung my axe with everything I had left.

Chapter 35

Cleo

Exhaustion weighed down on me, every breath coming with a tremor that I couldn't suppress. I had spent so much of my energy, healing every wound I could reach, mending broken bones, sealing gashes. But it wasn't enough. The residue of the elemental magic I’d unleashed earlier still buzzed beneath my skin, a taste of the forbidden power I had locked myself away from.

The prophecy enraged me—the looming shadow of its cruel grip. My visions wasn’t of hope or salvation; it was of death. Death to a people I had come to love. A prophecy that demanded I stand by and watch as the orcs, my newfound family, were swallowed by darkness.

It wasn’t fair.The anger surged, and I wanted to scream—to rail at the Gods, the earth, or whatever force had decided this was my fate.How dare they expect me to make this choice? To ask me to let these people—these proud, fierce warriors who had given me a home, a place, a purpose—die in some predetermined war?

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms as I fought back the tears threatening to spill over.I wasn’t a pawn. I wasn’t some tool to be wielded in their grand design.Butmy vision and every whispered word from the earth, told me otherwise. I was livid at the prophecy, furious at its inevitability, and most of all, enraged at the crushing lack of choices I had been given.

My heart clenched as I thought of the friends I had made in this clan, their fierce loyalty, their strength. They had become my people in a way I hadn’t realized I’d needed. And then there was Dex, his presence a steady rock against the storm of darkness surrounding us. Our bond was a lifeline, something I had come to rely on more than I realized. He believed in me, even when I struggled to believe in myself. I could still feel the warmth of his hands on me, the weight of his words as he told me that we would face this together.

As I looked out over the stronghold, seeing the waves of shadow creatures surging forward, I felt dread clawing at my chest, cold and merciless. We couldn’t hold the line like this, not without my healing magic to keep the orcs fighting. And if the walls fell, if those creatures broke through, then the women and children hiding in the caves below wouldn’t stand a chance. My hands shook at the thought, and a sob caught in my throat.

The air around the stronghold was thickening, the darkness pressing in on all sides grew heavier. The ground shook with dark energy, and the orcs around me grew still, their fear carved into their faces as we looked out over the wall.

A massive shape emerged from the shadows and my eyes widening in disbelief. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, its massive wings unfurling.Dragon.

I remember reading of them in the clan’s ancient texts. Dragons were harbingers of destruction, creatures called forth when the dark mages first appeared, centuries ago. They were rumored to have torn apart entire kingdoms, leaving nothing but scorched earth and death in their wake. As it descended into the cave, I realized that the stories hadn’t done it justice.

It wasn’t just terror I felt as I stared at the beast. It was a raw, searing anger that burned hotter than the dragon’s fiery breath.How could the earth allow this? How could the Gods sit idly by while darkness consumed. How could they expect me to be the one to stop it?

I had seen the visions on repeat in my head since the festival. The shadows devouring the stronghold, my clanmates—my family—falling one by one. And the other path—the one where I gave myself over to the earth, burning away my own existence to purge the darkness. Neither path felt like salvation. I wasn’t a savior. I was a woman backed into a corner, forced to carry the weight of a prophecy that didn’t care about the cost. Magic begged for freedom, flaring to life with a violent surge. It didn’t feel like a gift anymore—it felt like a curse, a chain binding me to fate.

The ground beneath the stronghold began to crack, and the ancient stone walls groaned, the dragon’s dark magic eating away at their foundation. Pain laced through me as I pushed back against the darkness but my power faltered. It slipped through my fingers, too weak to stand against the dragon’s immense power. The weight of the dark magic pressed down on my mind and I hit the ground. I tried to summon my magic, but the creeping panic was too loud, drowning out everything else.

Dex was there in an instant. I wanted to push him away, scream at him to not to touch me, but all I could do was gasp.

“Cleo, get up!” Dex’s voice cut through the haze. He was beside me, his hand gripping my shoulder, the warmth of it grounding me amidst the chaos. His eyes were fierce, filled with that unwavering resilience that never seemed to falter.

His words reached for the strength within me, but instead, something darker roared to life, fueling a boiling rage born of weeks of frustration, helplessness, and the cruel machinations of fate. The visions had been clear: death. His death and mine.The end of everything I had fought to protect. I was supposed to choose. The earth demanded sacrifice, and I was livid that it wasn’t enough to ask for one. It was going to take us all. I swallowed the scream building in my chest, the burn of magic at my fingertips threatening to explode.

Dex’s grip on my shoulder tightened, his voice snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Cleo?” His voice cracked with desperation, and fear. “Can you hold it long enough for me to drive my axe through it?”

Time seemed to freeze. The battlefield faded to silence. Those words echoed in my mind, louder and louder until they drowned out everything else. He was asking me to let him get himself killed, to trade his life for mine.

“No.” The word slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

Dex scowled, his hand slipping to the back of my neck, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Cleo, this is the only way. You can hold it, I know you can. I’ll finish it before?—”

“Stop!” My voice cracked, raw with emotion. “If you go over these walls, you will die.”

“If this is the price for survival, then so be it.”

“No!” The word came out louder this time, a guttural cry ripped from my chest. My hands trembled as they pushed against him, desperate to shove him away. “Do you hear yourself?You will die!”

“I’m not asking for your permission, Cleo! This is my duty and I’ll do it without hesitation!”

A bitter laugh tore from my throat, sharp and humorless. “Fate doesn’t care about choices. Don’t you get it? It’s not trading your life for mine—it’s demandingboth!The vision never showed victory. It showed me destruction.”

I could see the crack in his composure, the helplessness he was trying so hard to bury. But there was no hiding it from me. His hand dropped to his side, curling into a tight fist. Then whatdo you want me to do? Stand here and watch as it kills us all? Tell me what other options we have!”

His words tore at something deep inside me, the raw vulnerability cutting through my anger. I reached deep within myself, past the fear, the exhaustion, the pain. I found the barriers I had erected long ago, the walls that held back the darker side of my power. They had been my protection, my safeguard against the torrent of magic that threatened to consume me. But now, those walls felt like chains, binding me to a fate I refused to accept.

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