Page 115 of A Storm of Fire and Ash
“You fucking—” The curse ripped from my throat, but I didn’t finish.
Her hand moved faster than I could flinch. The hammer came down with a sickening crunch on my fingers.
I screamed.
I couldn’t do this. Couldn’t go through any more pain.
The mangled bones in my hand began knitting themselves back together slowly, each throb of healing drew the Queen’s gaze.
Her lips curled into a smile as she watched. “Oh… this is going to be delightful!” she squealed. “I’ll peel the skin from your body, strip you raw and watch you bleed out… just so I can see you mend. Then I’ll do it again. And again.” Her voice dropped to a venomous whisper; her eyes whispered with hunger. “All the while, I’ll drink down every drop of your magic until there’s nothing left of you but screams.”
“W-why!? T-they were innocent!” I screamed as if I could bring them back.
“They simply knew too much. You’re lucky I don’t kill the blonde one too. But the King wants her for his own amusement.”
Kalista.
She lifted the hammer again and smashed the same hand—once, twice, three times. Pain detonated in my hand, white-hot and blinding, shooting up my arm and into myskull. I screamed until my voice shredded; my body buckled against my restraints. Bones splintered under my skin, jagged edges grinding together with every twitch.
The world swam, black creeping in at the edges of my vision, and for one blissful second, I almost welcomed unconsciousness.
Rage filled in her blood-lust eyes. “Who sent you!? What were you supposed to do? Are there more Elementara?”
I shook my head, breath coming in ragged gasps. “No… one…sent…”
Her hand flashed, but it wasn’t my face she went for—her boot slammed sideways into my knee with a sickeningcrunch, the joint twisted at an angle no human—or Fae—should bend. Fire tore through my leg, shards of bone grinded against each other as I screamed, the sound strangled by the tang of blood that flooded my mouth.
Faylinn crouched, her fingers curled around my shattered knee, and with deliberate slowness, she pushed. The bone shifted, scraping through the muscle, the tearing wet and obscene. I sobbed, vision swimming—then she leaned in and bit down hard into the exposed flesh, ripping away a strip of skin like she was savoring a meal.
My stomach lurched violently. The pain, the heat, the sight of her lips smeared red—my body couldn’t hold on any longer. My body sagged against the restraints. And then, mercifully, everything went black.
The darkness was deep this time—no light, no sound, only the faint thrum of magic somewhere far away.
Am I dead?
“You’re still here, Flameborn,”Misun’s voice came low, steady, rumbling like distant thunder.
My throat felt too tight to answer right away.“Why… why isn’t the silver burning my neck anymore?”
“Because I’m trying to use as much magic as possible to heal you,”he said, each word threaded with strain.“I’ve never felt you closer than I do now. I think… you’re near me.”
I wanted to reach for him, but I didn’t know how in this place that wasn’t quite real.
His deep voice softened, but there was an edge of warning.“You must make a choice to take a chance, or your life will never change.”
My brow furrowed.“And if I can’t?”
“The moment you stop chasing… the right things start arriving.”
I understood everything he was saying, but the only thing I wanted at this moment was Mother.
Suddenly his words from before came flooding back. I remembered Misun’s voice echoing in my mind:“Why can I summon Mage Hand?”I asked.
“Because, Flameborn. Dragon blood runs in your veins—the same blood first awakened by the arcane flame. Only those of that pure lineage can command such power.”
Misun’s tone deepened.“The Arcane Flame isn’t some tale. It was the first fire—born from dragon breath when the world was nothing but dark and dust. All magic rose from that spark, but only our blood stayed bound to it. That’s why you can summon Mage Hand. Because whether you like it or not, you’ve got dragon fire in your veins.”
Dragon fire in my veins.Gods, no wonder everything inside me always felt like it wasburningto get out.
