Page 69 of Bound in Flames

Whispers danced in the flames, they spoke of death—of destruction—of endless war.Choose.

The creatures let out a deafening chorus of screams as they abandoned their assault on the orcs, their monstrous forms moved with inhuman speed as they leapt from the walls, their eyes fixed on me.

“You expect me to just accept this?” I growled, the fire blazing higher in response to my anger. “Is this the justice of the earth? Of the prophecy? Is this what you wanted?” My voice was raw, the words spilling out into the night, aimed at the world, at the earth, at whatever cruel force had decided my life was theirs to play with.

“You gave me power and chained me to it! You gave me hope! What kind of choice is this!”

The power inside me flared in response, rising like a tide, and I felt the earth shift beneath my feet. With a surge of energy, the ground rumbled and thick roots exploded from the soil, twisting and coiling like serpents. They surged forward, slithering across the battlefield toward the creatures, snagging them, grabbing at their limbs with a crushing strength. The creatures thrashed against the roots, their bodies writhing as they tried to break free, their claws tearing at the stone.

The flames roared into an unstoppable force, my heart pounding like a war drum, each beat pushing more power through my veins, too much to contain, too much to hold back. The air shimmered with the heat, warping the night around me, and the creatures let out piercing shrieks as the flames reached them. The fire coiled around their bodies, wrapping them in an embrace that seared their flesh, their bodies turning to ash

“Cleo, Please!”

I didn’t respond to the call through the mate bond. I couldn’t. My focus had narrowed into a single minded goal.Obliteration. The creatures fell in droves, reduced to charred husks and ash before my eyes, and it wasn’t enough.More.

Every breath burned, but I welcomed the pain, letting it fill my lungs until I thought I might combust. My skin was numb, deadened to everything but the power that pulsed through me, dark and intoxicating. I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to give it up

I could feel Dex through our bond, an anchor pulling against the tidal wave of rage and hunger within me. His desperation wrapped around me like a tether, a steady rhythm in the storm, but it wasn’t enough to break the hold the power had. His fear echoed through our connection, bleeding into me in shuddering waves, but I shoved it aside, trying to force the connection shut.

“Fight it, Cleo. Fight with me. Don’t let it consume you.”I could hear him begging to break through the firestorm that had overtaken me. In my heart I knew I wasn’t strong enough to stop this. I had bound myself to the flames, giving in to fate, but wouldn’t pull him into death with me.

I had crossed the line that fate had drawn, stepping into a place where control slipped through my fingers, where the fire ruled me. The flames burned with rage and need to protect my new family.

The flames devoured the dark creatures before turning on the earth and slammed against my will, racing for the sanctuary walls, threatening to consume everything we had fought so hard to protect.

Dex was still there, his presence insistent, his strength pressing against the edges of my mind, trying to connect. Against my will, I felt the bond between us strengthen, his steady presence forcing cracks into the chaos consuming me.

Could I control this, or would it control me?

“Fuck your prophecy!” I screamed into the fire, fury and heartbreak bubbling over.

Chapter 38

Dex

The flames raged across the battlefield, turning the darkness into a twisted, nightmarish glow. From my place on the walls, I could barely hear my own voice over the roar of the fire. My throat burned as I shouted, but the words seemed to vanish into the heat, swallowed by the crackling inferno approaching the stronghold.

“Cleo!” I called, my voice raw with anguish. My hands tightened around the stone of the rampart, my knuckles turning white as I leaned out over the edge, desperately trying to keep her in sight through the waves of heat that distorted the air. The flames leapt up from the earth, burning away the darkness.

She was somewhere beyond the flames, moving toward the dragon with that terrifying power blazing through her. I could feel it pulling at the bond between us, her pain and anger bleeding into every thread as she tried to force our connection shut. I could barely make her out, a figure wreathed in fire, but I knew it was her.

The flames coiled around her, and I couldn’t help but think of how she’d looked tucked in my arms in the firelight our first night in the forest, back when the war was just whispers and shadows. But that woman—soft and uncertain—was gone,replaced by this fierce, untouchable being. It terrified me as much as it filled me with awe.

This was my doing. I had driven her to this edge, to this breaking point. She wasn’t just fighting the creatures; she was fighting things far greater—fate, the prophecy, and the cruel hand that had shaped her life into this moment. And I didn’t know how to pull her back without breaking her further.

I scanned the faces of my warriors gathered along the wall. They were wounded, battered from hours of fighting, their faces pale and streaked with blood and grime, barely held together by my mate’s magic as they tried to hold of the remaining shadows. Gornak was standing with one arm hanging at an odd angle, face twisted in pain, but his eyes were sharp and focused on me.

“Hold the line!” I shouted, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. The warriors needed to see strength from me, even if every instinct I had screamed to go to Cleo, to drag her back from whatever edge she was walking.

Gornak let out a booming laugh. “Aye, Chieftain. We’re not done.” He glanced over his shoulder, catching the attention of Thorn who clutched a blood-soaked bandage to his ribs. The younger orc quickly bound the wound, raising his weapon with a grim resolve.

The wall beneath us trembled as the dragon let out another earth-shaking roar. The roots Cleo had summoned still held, but I could see the strain in them, the cracks forming where the dragon’s dark magic pushed back. It wasn’t going to hold forever. And if Cleo’s fire consumed her before she could finish this... I shook my head, refusing to let the thought take root. I couldn’t afford doubt, not now.

Beside me, Gornak shifted, his face pale but set with determination. “She’s burning herself out, Dex.” I could barely hear him over the crackle of flames. “She needs the clan’s strength.”

He turned toward the others, his voice rising to cut through the noise. “She needs us! She needs your strength!”

We’d seen what Cleo was capable of—had witnessed the miracles she worked when she healed and when she fought beside us. She wasourshaman, my mate, and we couldn’t let her stand alone.

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