A roar filled the glen—not from her throat but from the flames themselves. Triumph and hunger. Golden light seared away every shadow.
Screams answered. Not just the Slew’s thin shrieks but voices—Shee and Marav both crying out in terror. “Get down!” The words ripped from her throat. “I can’t control it!”
She couldn’t. The fire had stopped listening. It poured through her, consuming her, burning her from the inside out. Heat blistered her skin. Her blood turned molten in her veins. Copper and ash stung her tongue.
She wasn’t wielding the fire anymore. She was just the doorway it rushed through, the conduit, and it didn’t care what it burned.
The flames slammed into the Slew. They recoiled, arms wheeling, mouths gaping.
Alar wrenched himself free of the massive wraith and rolled, his body a dark blur. He flattened himself as the wall of flame roared overhead and crashed into his opponent.
The huge Slew twisted and writhed, trapped now, its milky eyes fixing on Lara. Those clawed hands reached for her, grasping at air, but the fire held it pinned.
Lara staggered forward, her legs moving of their own volition. Heat pulsed through her with every heartbeat—and with it came something else. Something like joy. Like power. Like invincibility.
She was unstoppable. She was a Goddess of Fire who’d set the world alight, and everything would burn if she willed it. Everything would bow or break.
“Burn!” The scream tore from her throat, raw and wild. She unleashed another torrent of flame, this one so bright it hurt to look at, so hot the stones at her feet began to crack.
The fire drove into the Slew like a spear. Even the massive one couldn’t withstand this.
They broke. All of them. Screeching, the Unforgiven scattered into the darkness, their cries fading into the night until only silence remained.
And the fire burned on.
19: FLAME AND FURY
“LARA!” A HAND fastened around her right arm.Bree. “Stop!”
“I can’t!”
Swaying on her feet, Lara looked up at the sky. The Slew had departed, yet fire still flowed from her outstretched hand. She couldn’t sever the connection. The elation drained from her then, cold fear replacing it.
The fire held her in its thrall.
“Let it go.” Alar’s voice reached her then.
A sob ripped from her throat, even as sweat trickled down her face. Her skin felt as if it were smoking.
Alar moved close. Fingers fastened around her extended wrist, holding it firmly, while his other hand slid over the back of her hand. Panic thudded against her breastbone as his fingers started to press hers into a fist. What was he doing? He risked incinerating himself. “No!” she gasped. “Don’t.”
“Fight it, Lara,” he commanded. “You’re stronger than the flames.”
“Go inward. Find the stillness.” Ruari was there too, his voice raspy yet strong. Soothing. “You know the place. The peaceful loch where nothing can touch you.”
Lara swallowed, her throat painfully tight. And all the while, Alar’s fingers continued to push against hers. But still, she resisted him.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she struggled against the roaring in her ears, pressing through it to find her quiet center of power.
“Are you there?” Ruari asked.
“Aye.”
“Walk into it … let the cold water put out the fire.”
Lara obeyed, even as the fire magic rebelled with every step. Her skin hissed as water lapped around her ankles. She waded in, up to her knees now. The water began to steam.
Throwing her head back, she screamed. And then, she dove under. The chill hit her like a fist, and the fire’s roar nearly deafened her. An instant later, it went out.
