Page 100 of Born in Fire

“What happened there?”

“The doctors were confused. My vitals were strange—heart rate too fast, temperature too high. They thought their equipment was malfunctioning.” A small smile touches her lips. “They wanted to run tests, but I knew I couldn’t stay. I didn’t know why, just that I needed to leave. So I took some scrubs and walked out.”

“How did you get to Craven Towers?”

“I walked a while, then flagged down a truck. The driver gave me a ride. I didn’t know where I was going, just that I needed to be there.” Her gaze meets mine. “Then I saw you, and everything… clicked. Not memories, exactly. But certainty.”

I nod, understanding perfectly. The moment I saw her across the plaza, something in me recognized her, beyond logic or reason.

“What about Tyler?” I ask, the name bitter on my tongue. “What happened?”

Her expression darkens. “When I got to the Towers, he came out of nowhere. Like he’d been waiting for me.” She shivers. “He said I was his fiancée. That I’d disappeared. That he’d been looking for me.”

“And you didn’t remember him.”

“No. But I knew he was lying. Something about him felt wrong.” Her hands clench in her lap. “He grabbed me, tried to force me to go with him. Said I belonged to him. He hurt me.” Her voice hardens. “And I just… reacted. There was heat, light, and then—”

“He was gone,” I finish.

She nods, watching me carefully. “Does that frighten you? What I did?”

Oh God, if only she knew.

A laugh escapes me, dark and genuine. “Frighten me? Juno, if I’d known he’d found you, I’d have torn him apart myself. The bastard stalked you for months after you left him. He was toxic, manipulative. An abuser. You were right to defend yourself.”

Relief softens her features. “I didn’t mean to kill him. I just wanted him to stop.”

“I know.” I smile gently. “You’d worked very hard to take that power back before…”

“Before I died,” she finishes for me. “Tell me more about that time.”

I lean forward, elbows on my knees. “What do you want to know?”

She takes a deep breath. “Everything. Start with the basics.”

“Your full name is Juno Elizabeth Ashford. You’re twenty-eight. You worked as a barista at the Grind & Bean in Craven Towers, but you’re an artist—a really good one, though you don’t give yourself much credit. You have a small apartment that’s crammed with canvases and plants.”

She absorbs this, nodding slightly. “And us? How did we meet?”

“At the coffee shop. I came in one morning and hit on you mercilessly.” The memory warms me despite everything. “You called me on my shit immediately. Told me I was a terrible tipper and had sad eyes.”

A smile touches her lips. “Was I right?”

“On both counts.” I return her smile. “We hadn’t been seeing each other long when—” I stop, the words sticking in my throat. “When you were taken from me,” I finally say. “But it didn’t matter how long it was. You were everything.”

“I’m back now,” she says, putting a hand over mine. Her touch warms me.

I nod, the memory still raw. “Yes. You are.”

She’s quiet for a moment, processing. “My family? Do I have one?”

This is the part I’ve been dreading. “Your parents died in a plane crash a few years ago. You were an only child. No other family that you ever mentioned.”

The news hits her visibly—a flinch, a sharp intake of breath. Tears well in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly.

She nods, blinking rapidly. “It’s strange. I can’t remember their faces, but I feel the loss.” A tear spills over. “I feel hollow where they should be.”

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