Betrayal.
Shayde Wylder stabbed her in the back, twisted the blade, and then had the audacity to act like he didn’t have a choice in the matter.
He was the one holding thefuckingknife.
And I would be the one to do him the pleasure of stabbing him from the front. The last face he would see before his life faded away would be Scarlet’s, and he would endure every bit of pain he caused her, over and over, until his last breath.
My sister slammed the door behind her so hard that the wall I was leaning against shook.
You go, girl.
I started to climb my way out, but Shayde’s voice stopped me in my tracks. His question was quiet, almost hesitant.
“Have you told her, Rhodes?”
Rhodes’s silence revealed his answer. I lowered myself back into position, angling my head to catch every word. But the Wylder brothers remained quiet. Curiosity got the better of me, and I dared to peek through the crack.
Shayde sighed heavily, his shoulders sinking as he leaned against the bars, head bowed.
Then he mumbled under his breath, “You have to tell her. If you care even a bit about her—”
Rhodes slammed his hands against the bars with a force that rattled them. His growl was low, seething. “Don’t you dare lecture me about caring for her, brother.” His voice dripped with venom. “You are the reason for all of this.” He threw his arms wide, his expression pure lethality. “You led her into a burning building—knowing damn well it was your hand thatwielded the flames.”
“I know, Rhodes!” Shayde’s voice cracked, raw with something dangerously close to desperation. “Iknow! I was—and still am—a coward. But you and I both know your time is running out. If you want to keep her, you have to tell her the truth.”
Rhodes stood rigid, his chest rising and falling in sharp, unsteady breaths. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white, nostrils flaring with barely contained fury.
Shayde pressed on. “Take it from someone wholosther, brother. You saw how she reacted when she found out I’m a mage. How do you think she’s going to react when she learns you are the very thing she just condemned me for?”
Chapter 13
“Hey! Wait up.”
Fallon’s friend from the ring—Doryan, I’d learned—was jogging toward me with something in his hand. For someone tied to Fallon, he wore no malice on his face. He towered over me, casting a shadow that blocked the sun from my eyes. When he held out a piece of parchment, I noticed the burn scars on the back of his hand disappearing beneath the cuff of his winter jacket.
I couldn’t find the energy to ask what it was or who it was from, but I managed to take the folded parchment. He must have sensed there was nothing he could say to make me feel better, because he only offered a quiet nod before turning to leave.
My hands trembled as I unfolded the letter. My chest hollowed when I saw who it was from.
Scar,
There is nothing I could do to ever right my wrongs. No apology will ever be enough to earn your forgiveness. But there’s something else I need to tell you. That night, when we roasted cracker-less s’mores, you asked me about myrelationship with my brother. I didn’t know it then, but the answer I gave wasn’t really about Rhodes at all. It was about me.
At the time, the words felt strange. But I’ve thought about them every day since. The truth is, I wasn’t speaking about my brother. My heart was trying to speak about my relationship with myself. Somewhere along the way, I lost who I was. I don’t even know when it happened. All I know is, I’ve felt broken for a long, long time.
It wasn’t Rhodes making choices I couldn’t live with—it was me. A buried part of my soul tried to fight back, to steer me away from the road I was heading down. But I didn’t listen. I pushed that part of me down, over and over, until one day… I gave up on myself.
I don’t recognize who I am anymore. And I hate it. I miss the person I used to be. I miss the brother I once was. I don’t know how to find my way back—but I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.
Shayde
I wiped the warm tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand. With the other, I crushed the letter into my palm and kept walking.
“Where are you going?”
Lakota had been circling overhead since I stormed out of the dungeons, his wings beating like rolling thunder against the sky. I didn’t answer. I kept moving, my steps quick and restless, tearing through the village streets as if I could outrun the pain. But this place stretched for miles. There was no escaping it.
Pain followed me like a shadow, sinking its claws deep. My heart twisted, my lungs burned, and my chest felt seconds away from collapse. The lump in my throat had grown so thick I wondered how I was still standing—how I could even breathe when it was choking the air from my body. My skin burned hotterwith every step, my fire element coiling beneath the surface, desperate for release.
