It’s terrible. Everything in me wants to recoil, to take a step back from the flames. But the flames are in me now. Theyareme. And I can’t escape.
Steady, Blackblood.
I grit my teeth and shout to dust off the excess energy. But it’s not enough.
The scorching pain intensifies, seizing my muscles, burning me alive where I stand. I’m roaring, my throat stripped raw, and I still can’t even hear myself over the wild rush of fire. It’s too much, it’s killing me?—
Take it, Blackblood! Now!
I can’t! I can’t stop, I can’t move my hands!
You must. Let go. LET. GO.
I do. And that fire shoots from me so fast and urgent it feels like my soul is being ripped away with it. Furi’s blue fire spits out of me like a laser beam.
“Serena!”
I whirl toward whoever called my name, and that fire slices across the clearing, spearing out over the wide ledge and into the ether. If there had been anyone in that line of fire, they would have been sliced clean in two.
“Get back!” someone shouts. “Now!”
Aim!Furi commands.
Right, that would help.
I adjust my hands toward the silver box on the ground. It instantly goes up in a glorious blaze, burning white and sparking colors I’ve never seen—never even heard of before.
It is done, Blackblood.
But her fire is still there, swallowing me. There’s way too much of it.
I’ve severed the line, now you must do the same,Furi pleads.
This is me now—all me. And it’s going to kill me. The very thing that makes me powerful is going to be the thing that ends me.
How’s that for irony?
“Serena!” Zadyn’s voice cuts past my screams. It’s there in my mind and in my ears.
“Don’t touch her, Zadyn! She’s still wielding!” Mar shouts.
“I don’t fucking care!”
My hands and knees hit the soil. I’m soaked in sweat and tears. Furi is whimpering like a kicked dog beside me. The blue fire is extinguished, but it’s still in me. I’m still burning.
Zadyn skids in front of me on his knees, pressing his chest to the ground so my eyes can find his.
Hey, stay with me.
Please,I choke.Don’t come any closer. There’s no reason this should kill us both.
You’re not dying. Not tonight, not even close.
A guttural cry spears through me. He taps the ground near my cheek, demanding my attention.
Look at me, Serena. I’m here. I love you. And you will stop thisright now. If you love me, you won’t dare leave me behind, and I know youfucking do. This is not worth dying for. Nothing is, not even saving this entire gods-damned world. So let it go, sweetheart. Let it go and stay with me. I’ve got you.
I try telling him I do love him, more than words, but fire doesn’t quake in the face of love. It laughs.
