Page 75 of The Prison Healer

“See you in ten minutes,” Naari said firmly as she unlatched her hand, her amber eyes locked on Kiva’s and alight with forceful emotion, as if she were trying to share all her strength, all her confidence that Kiva would still be alive at the end of those ten minutes.

The moment Naari’s touch was gone, Kiva wanted it back. There was nothing steadying her anymore, nothing keeping her from falling.

“Slow breaths,” Naari whispered too soft for Rooke to hear, with him already waiting by the door. “And stay low.”

Kiva could barely comprehend the guard’s parting instructions, sheer terror rising up and constricting her rib cage.

The amulet,she reminded herself.Trust the amulet.

That was all well and good, but it also meant trusting the princess, when Kiva still despised everything she represented.

The sound of the door sealing shut echoed around the room, and Kiva spun toward it, a surge of panic unleashing within her.

“No! Come back!” she cried in desperation, running to the stone barrier and thumping her hands against it. “Please!”

It didn’t open.

Smoke tickled Kiva’s nose, and she whirled again, her back pressed to the door as she stared at the three metal grates, the sounds of clicking and grinding meeting her ears.

“No, no, no,” Kiva whispered, leaning as far into the stone door as she could, as if the further she could get from the grates, the safer she was. It was a lie—there was nowhere in this room that was safe, the charring on the door beside her face telling her as much.

Slow breaths,Naari had told her.And stay low.

The slow breaths were impossible right now, since Kiva was gasping for air. But she made herself follow the second order, sliding down the door until she was crouched on the ground, her hand reaching for the amulet and pulling it from beneath her tunic, her grip so tight that the edges of the crest dug into her palm. It was ironic, really, that the golden crown was piercing her skin, damaging her before the fire even started.

But then she saw the deep orange glow at the edges of the three sealed grates, a hint of heat touching her exposed flesh as the smell of smoke grew stronger.

Maybe the furnace would break. Maybe Grendel would find a way to make it look like it was working, without it incinerating Kiva in the process. Maybe—

The grates opened, the metal unsealing and sliding upward at the click of a gear.

And then came the inferno.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kiva screamed.

She didn’t mean to, the sound just wrenched from her throat, her hands dropping the amulet to cover her face as the tempest of flames surged into the room, filling every space from the ground right up to the arched ceiling.

Seconds—that was all it took for her to be surrounded. The firestorm was all she could see, all she could hear, the roaring and crackling overwhelming her ears as blistering heat slammed into her like a wave.

She expected to feel the instant agony of fire searing her flesh, her screams turning from terror to pain, her life flashing before her eyes as she swiftly burned to death.

None of that happened.

Slowly, Kiva lowered her hands, gaping at what she found.

The flames were touching every part of her, and yet ... they alsoweren’t. The amulet she wore was glowing, a bright light pulsating outward from it and covering her like a barrier from head to toe.

She stretched out her shaking fingers, watching in awe as the inferno swirled around the room, fully encompassing her, and yet caused no harm.

A manic laugh left Kiva, which quickly turned into a sob before she could capture the sound and thrust it deep down within her to keep more from coming. If she ever saw Mirryn again, she would throw aside all her enmity and shower the princess with gratitude. If not for her elemental magic, Kiva would be writhing on the stone floor right now, rather than crouching and watching the fire as it raged around her.

Seconds turned to minutes as Kiva stayed low to the ground. She didn’t dare move, lest she risk disturbing the magic in the amulet. Had she been braver, she might have risen and walked around the room, like some fire goddess dancing in the flames. But all she did was remain pressed against the door, willing back her tears as she waited, waited,waitedfor the ten minutes to come to an end.

One minute.

Two minutes.

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