Page 49 of Voices in the Stars
There was movement in the shadows. I tried to push off the tree, but Atlas kept me pinned down. He growled once again as his lips continued their attack on my neck.
“Atlas,” I mumbled out, finally reaching out to him, smacking against his back. I felt his vibrating humming even as my hand seared a hole into his clothing until I was touching bare skin. He pressed closer, hiking my legs further up.
Just as quickly as I was pressed against the tree, I was dropped straight to the ground. I yelled as I slammed into the ground, my head rolling back and hitting the tree. With a groan, I held the back of my head. Everything went dark for a moment before I blinked back into clarity.
Atlas was on the ground, screaming curses at the people who quickly emerged from around us. We were surrounded. There was a rope tied around one of his horns. A guy kneeled on each of his arms, keeping him down even as he thrashed against them. Two more had their swords drawn, pointed at him as they talked.
My brows furrowed as I looked at the armored men surrounding us. They had similar gold-plated armor to the men that marched around Donnaway, claiming to be working for the duchess. What could they possibly be doing all the way out here?
“I’ll fucking kill you for this,” Atlas roared, pulling my focus back to him as he ripped his arm up. One of the men was jostled off, but other quickly joined him, holding Atlas down. “You think you can get away with this? I trained every single one of you.”
One of the men directly in front of me hunched down so he could look at Atlas. “Your time is over, little prince.” His words were tough, but he was still quick to jump back when Atlas leaned forward, snapping his jaws at the man.
Atlas’ chuckle was dark as he laid back on the ground. I ignored the way it had my thighs clenching, choosing to focus on the chills downmy arms instead. “You were always an idiot during training. Nice to see some things never change.”
I had never been so thankful to be as invisible as I appeared in that moment. Everyone’s attention was focused on the cursing man on the ground as he spewed threats of murder. No one was even facing me. My hands trembled as I forced myself to my knees, crawling backward until I was hiding behind the tree.
My hands were shaking as I stayed out of view, leaning back against the tree as I tried to steady my racing heart. He was the one who’d been coming to my rescue our entire journey. What was I supposed to do with him helpless like this? Pray to the gods that maybe I could get the fire to work for me this one time? Then risk charring the man I’d come to care about? Perfect. I couldn’t see how any of this could go wrong.
I ran my smoldering hands down my face, still slightly taken aback by the lack of pain as I touched myself. Little flames were now chasing each other along my arms. My head leaned back as I stared up at the sky. The same feeling of pressure built up within my head. It felt like someone was squeezing the sides of my face together. My hands covered my mouth as I tried to stop myself from crying out. Thousands of voices were whispering in the back of my mind. It kept building up until it was a chanted scream.Leave.
I ripped my gaze away from the sky, gasping for breath as I fell forward. Everything went quiet once more. Except for the yelling that was still happening behind me. It would be easy enough to leave. I could easily find my way back to the little tree village we had just been in. I was sure it wouldn’t be difficult to start over there. Find work and completely forget about the life Atlas had told me about.
Crawling around, I peeked my head around the tree. Atlas was sitting up now, eyes frantically searching everywhere as they wrapped his body in metal chains. His gaze met mine and his shoulders relaxed slightly. There was no telling what would happen to him if I left now. No, that wasn’t completely true. I knew what would happen. Either they would kill him right here, or they’d bring him to his father, where he would probably do the same. He must’ve guessed the path my thoughts had taken, because he gave a very slight shake of his head,clearly mouthing the wordrunat me before quickly turning his attention back to the men in front of him.
There was no way I was going to be able to leave him now. The ground around me lit up as the flames along my arms roared to life. Whatever conflicting feelings I had about him could wait until we were both away safely. All that mattered now was that he would do the exact same thing for me. Scanning the area around us quickly, I could’ve yelled in excitement as I saw Sal’s dagger laying on the ground where we had been standing before. Atlas must’ve found it when he pulled me out of the water, or it washed up with us. Either way, I could’ve kissed him for having it on him still.
Everyone still had their backs turned to me as I crawled back around the tree, keeping as low to the ground as I could manage. The ones who tied him up stood to the sides of Atlas, arms crossed as they looked smugly down on him.
“What should we do with you, princeling?” one of the armored men standing in front of me sneered at Atlas. “I’m sure your father would love to hear about the little display we just watched. Some of our boys really enjoyed it.” That had Atlas thrashing against the chains again, snarling at the men. A shiver broke down my spine as I watched them out of the corner of my eye. I was a fool to think I had ever truly been threatened by this man. Watching the way he bared his fangs, hidden muscles bulging against the chains, he looked terrifying. Even in the beginning when I thought he truly wanted to kill me, he never looked at me like this. He looked every part of the killer I imagined he was. The difference now was there was no fear of him. Atlas was capable of many things; harming me wasn’t one of them.
My hand wrapped around the cool metal. The flames around my hand simmered down until I was looking at my skin once more. All my fire slowly flickered out until there was nothing left. The flame in my chest burned hotter. I could feel it all coursing down my arm. Yet, where it usually stopped at my fingertips, it kept going straight into the blade. I didn’t have long to question what was happening, but the hotter the flame burned, the harder it was to get my limbs to cooperate with me. My head felt fuzzy as I moved toward the men, trying to keep quiet even with the sound of blood rushing in my ears.
I glanced up at the armed man in front of me. My face burned as I felt Atlas staring at me. There were few options I had with his body mostly covered in shiny metal. Someone shouted off to the side of me, but they were too late. I had already slashed out with the blade, cutting deep across the backs of both of his ankles.
Fire shot up his legs, burning everything in sight. The man dropped to the ground, screaming as he was slowly consumed. I retched as hot blood coated my hand, running down my arm. The dagger dropped from my hand. My flame stopped working overtime, but I could see spots in my vision. Every part of me felt fully drained. There were voices all around me, some inside my head while others I was certain came from the people around me.
Atlas roared as the lock keeping him restrained snapped, and the chains fell uselessly around him. I tried to stand, only for the world to go pitching to the side as I stumbled back to the ground. My stomach twisted and churned as I tried to focus. There was a bright shine of light as Atlas drew the sword that had stayed strapped to his back. Two of the men were quickly cut down.
I screamed as hands grabbed me, ripping me from the ground. Atlas whipped his head toward me, stalking toward us, blood dripping from the tip of his sword.
“Let her go.” His voice was a deep rumble that echoed off the trees around us.
The hands on me shook as I was pulled backward. I took several deep breaths as I stumbled back with him, bringing the world back into focus. He didn’t need to save me. I could do it myself. The flame in my chest gave a weak twist causing my vision to go out. Whatever was within me, I had pushed it to its limit.
“Just a little more,” I whispered.
My eyes closed as I focused on where his hands were digging into my shoulders. I pictured the flames dancing around my shoulders, catching his fingertips. There was a yelp from behind me before I was shoved forward. Atlas lunged at me, grabbing me with one arm before I could fall. His other hand kept his sword pushed out toward the last guy.
All the strength I had seeped from me as Atlas kept me standing. His chest vibrated with words I couldn’t hear past the ringing in myears. The other man must’ve left, because Atlas quickly sheathed his sword along his back once more before turning his attention to me. His lips moved quickly as he inspected me, his words getting louder as he grabbed me. The world started to spin as my head fell backward; from staring at the trees behind us to looking at the leaves above us.
The sounds of the world were drowned out by the fire roaring inside of me. It felt peaceful if it wasn’t for the tears dripping off Atlas’ cheeks. I opened my mouth, trying to tell him I was okay, to not be upset, only for nothing to come out.
She was gone.No.She was breathing.Thank fuck.She could have died. I tried to suck in deep breaths as I held her close to my chest. As soon as her eyes slipped closed, her body stilled. Pain radiated from everywhere I touched her. Her body was hotter than any fire I had been near. I didn’t care. She would have to burn me to a pile of ash before I let go of her.
We had an amazing night together. I’d slept with others before, but it was nothing like that. With the others, I was a freak show they thought would kill them if they turned their back to me. Not Cece. She wasn’t scared of me. There was no other reason besides the want to be with me.
I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead even as she burned me. Even as I ran through the forest with her, it didn’t feel like enough. Her body trembled in my arms. Sweat dripped down from her arms. She was burning up. There was barely a rise in her chest with each breath.
