“But my magic of foresight, I release back into the world. If you were to see what you must endure, you would grab the sword from my heart and thrust it into yours,” he rasps.
“Wait!” I shout as I jerk back. I expect his hands to pull me closer so this crazy conversation can continue. Instead, his glowing magic surges into my body, raising every hair, widening every pore, stretching every bone, muscle, and vein until I feel like I’m about to be ripped apart.
Did I die? No, the pain is too intense.
I fall forward onto Everett. “No!” I wince as I roll off of him in shock.
I want Everett’s hands to grab me, but they fall by his sides, knuckles landing on the blood-soaked soil; it looks so peaceful, so… right, like a body buried in the soil, allowing multiple creatures to feed off it. Now they won’t starve and die. Death fuels life; it’s the ultimate life cycle.
His chest doesn’t move, but his leg produces one final twitch. His eyes gaze up at the sky, and the smile on his lips falls slowly, like a boat drifting off into the sunset on calm waters. Peace washes over his face as I watch him pass over.
I lean closer to him, reaching out and running my palm down his face to close his eyes. “What did you do, Prince Everett? Why did you choose me?”I whisper.
Chapter
Three
Titus
Flames dance over my cheek. I sit closer to the fire than most soldiers would. Unlike them, I can control the temperature. If I need to walk through fire, I can.
Tristen left to get us ale or, if we’re lucky, something stronger.
Flexing my fingers, I glare at my hands. I thrust them into the fire, feeling nothing but joy as my magic grasps the flames. But I don’t feel like myself. The skin that covers my body isn’t mine anymore. It was stolen, taken, and used, then given back to me.
I see Everett’s face in everything. In my dreams, in the clouds, even in the fire.
His words haunt me like needles constantly digging into my flesh. Urging me to take heed and acknowledge them.
“There you are,” a soft, feminine voice pierces through my dark thoughts.
I pull my hand back and stand. I’ve tried so hard to distance myself from my friends, but in a war camp, finding a moment alone is impossible. Tristen and I have taken it upon ourselves towalk further from the camp, deep into the woods where enemies used to lurk.
Some still are.
“Sit down, you oaf. We need to talk,” Ember says as she sits next to the spot I was just in.
She wiggles her hips as if the ground is as comfortable as a mattress. It is for us; our beds are not much thicker than the dirt.
“Thanks for warming the seat up for me.” She smirks, then snatches the flames.
Like me, Ember possesses fire magic, but unlike me, she can’t conjure it out of thin air. Some vampires call her a lesser. Lessers cannot produce their own magic; they need their element nearby so they can grab it and manipulate it. It doesn’t make them less, but in the eyes of rankings, it marks them as such.
“I was just leaving. Long day.” I grab the back of my neck and turn to leave, but she throws the flame at my feet, then wraps it around me.
Her eyes soften as the fire dance over her palms, warming her night-kissed skin. I watch, enchanted by her beauty, but I’m also worried I’ll fail her, that one day some monster will lock his eyes on her and steal her away from us.
“Sit down,” she repeats. “I just bathed, I swear. I don’t stink like death anymore.”
“We told you to keep that smell on you.” I smirk as I cross my arms. “It fends the men off.”
“And I told you,” she looks down, sweeping her fingers over the dirt, “I like men. Therefore, I bathe frequently now.”
If dragons were still alive, I imagine my exhale would sound like one. To me, Ember will always be my little sister who needs protecting. A child who would never have survived without us, and vice versa. We’re a tight-knit group, like the ropes tyingdown the mast of a sail. Remove one rope, and the sail doesn’t function the same.
I shouldn’t reply, but Ember is hard to resist. “I’m tired.” I wave my hand and kill the flames, cutting off her magic.
Her cheeks turn a burnt red color as she stands. “How long have we known each other, Titus?” She crosses her arms, which pushes her breasts closer together.
