Page 56 of Voices in the Stars
“Try to pay attention, Cece.” Atlas chuckled as his fingers picked up speed.
My hands reached down, grabbing his arms as I felt myself getting swept away by the feelings. I was swiftly climbing to the edge. I had lost focus on what we were doing until I felt it.
A slight pull of energy from somewhere deep inside me. Then the coal in my chest kicked into life, turning into a small burning ember as it kept pulling energy from the hidden well inside me. My brows furrowed as different parts of my body fought for my attention. I ignored the burning in my chest in favor of the pleasure floating through me. My nails dug into Atlas’ arms, whimpers escaping my lips as he slowed down. He chuckled, kissing along my shoulder before pulling away with a moan as he pressed back against me. Then we were moving again.
His grip on my thigh tightened as he rubbed against my ass, miming the movements from our night in the inn. I cursed at the sky, wanting nothing more than for him to throw me onto the grass and take me again.
“Please,” I whimpered, desperately moving against him. I felt myself quickly climbing again before it was just as quickly ripped away from me.
There was a new itch that had nothing to do with the man between my legs. It was enough to pull me out of the moment with Atlas. I wiggled my fingers, pulling them from where they had been resting on his arms.
“Show me, little witch. Let me see how you burn for me,” Atlas mumbled against the top of my head.
My brows furrowed at his words. I already felt like I was on fire. Sweat had broken out across my forehead. This was something else though. The ember inside me had long turned into a raging inferno.Something wasn’t right. I clenched my hands, trying to make the annoying feeling go away. All I wanted was to focus on Atlas’ movements. I could still feel the faint pleasure coursing through me, but it was no longer the focus. Not when there was a fiery snake running through my body.
“Cece?” Atlas questioned, his hands pulling out from underneath my dress.
I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing would come out. My eyes opened as he moved in front of me. Fear twisted his features as he looked over me. I raised my hands to comfort him.
Instead, I felt the snake strike, twisted around my throat, preventing my scream as flames came shooting out of my hands. Atlas cursed as he fell back, shielding his face as they went charging toward him. Tears sizzled against my cheeks as I was stuck watching as the flames encircled us, twisting up into the sky.
“Cece, make it stop.” Atlas frantically glanced around us, cursing as sparks spit out toward him. He scrambled back up to his feet, reaching out to me only to rip his hands away with another curse.
There were holes burned into his new shirt. My mouth still hung open as I tried to say anything other than the choked gasps that were forcing their way out. I was helpless to watch as they got closer. I tried to focus on what I felt right when the fire came to life just moments before. I imagined that feeling stopping, all of this going with it. There was a small sputter inside me before the fire roared back to life. I tried to stay calm and try again, but this time, nothing happened in response. I was going to burn Atlas alive, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Except for forcing myself to burn out again. I healed myself once before; I was sure I could do it again. So what if I spent another several days asleep? I just had to try to avoid killing him in this process. I looked up at Atlas, hoping he could see the apology in my eyes.
He must have understood some of it as he moved back as far as the fire would let him. A quick nod from him was all I needed as I focused on fueling that little kick of power I felt. A scream finally tore through me as everything intensified. The fire ripped through my body until the only thing I could feel was its heat. Sweat was pouring off me. I could faintly hear Atlas yelling, but I closed my eyes, knowing if I focused onhim, I would lose the little control I had over the flames. I fed the fire every bit on energy I had inside me. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the world starting to spin around me. I took a steadying breath as I kept pushing myself until it finally started flickering out before it was gone.
One moment, all I could feel was the intense heat, and the next, everything was gone. I opened my eyes, a smile tugging up the corners of my lips as I saw all the flames had vanished. Atlas was looking at me, mouth moving with words I couldn’t hear. I opened my mouth to tell him this, but I was falling before I had the chance. Arms wrapped around me before I had the chance to hit the ground.
“What the hell did you do?” Atlas yelled into my ear as he picked me up, carrying me toward the house.
“I did it,” I slurred, pride filling my chest. I didn’t kill either one of us. It was the small victories that counted right now.
“Whatever that was, was not an accomplishment,” Leon argued as Atlas walked us into the house.
I just gave Leon a wobbly smile, head bobbing as Atlas carried me. His words did nothing to dampen the good spirits I was in. No one died, and I managed to stop it before the house burned down. It was certainly an accomplishment in my books.
Moonlight trickled through the window.A cool breeze soothed my warm, damp face. My nose wrinkled as the smell of burnt grass came in with it. I knew I hadn’t dreamed of the inferno I had created, but it would’ve been a nice possibility. My entire body ached as I lay on my side, watching the faint twinkling of stars above the treetops. My room felt much hotter than it had been earlier in the day. There was still an intense warmth radiating off me. I was sure that was why one of the men here had opened the window while I had been asleep. At least I must have woken up quickly this time. I doubted the smell would still be this awful if it was days later.
Tears trickled down my face, staining the pillow I was laying on. Everything was much simpler back home. I might have felt miserable and trapped, but at least I didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing someone. Or doing it on purpose. I grimaced at the thought of the man I killed in the forest. My stomach twisted, nausea rocking through me.
Even now, I felt it churning deep within me now that I could identify where its energy came from. It twisted my insides like a creature that got its first taste of freedom and was hungry for more. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, fighting the next wave of nausea at the feeling of my own body being invaded by some creature. The ember in my chest never went out like it was before. There was constant heat now, just waiting for me to use it.
A slamming door ripped me out of my thoughts as voices filled the house.
“You’re wrong.” Leon’s voice boomed with an anger I hadn’t heard yet.
“She almost burned your house down!” Atlas yelled back. “You think bringing her with me would be a great idea?”
With a huff, I gave up the idea of just hiding in this room untilmorning. Sliding out of bed, I walked out into the kitchen. Leon and Atlas both had their backs turned to me as they argued, setting their arms full of goods on the wooden counter.
“Better than you going and getting yourself killed,” Leon snapped back. “We had five guards chase us out of town today.”
“She’s unpredictable,” Atlas argued back.
“She’s a fighter,” Leon countered.
