I try to call his name, but my throat is raw from screaming and all that comes out is a broken rasp.
He can't hear me over the roar of the inferno.
I watch through half-lidded eyes as he grabs Cormac and starts beating him.
My consciousness wavers and the edges of my vision blur and darken.
When I come to, I hear Cormac screaming.
I watch through my blurry vision as Callum drags Cormac toward the flames.
I watch, unable to look away, as Cormac begs me. I don't make out everything he says, but I don't need to. There's nothing he could say or do that would make me want to save him.
Callum's head turns. Through the smoke and flames, his eyes find mine.
The question in them is clear.
I think of my mother, what he did to her, and how she risked everything to protect me. I think of my sisters in the Order, the ones who burned on altars just like this one because Cormac demanded it. I think of the girl I was before the Order took everything from me. I think of what he did to me.
And I think of Callum, and what Cormac would do to him and his family if given the chance.
No, there is no forgiveness in my heart. He wants everyone else to meet the Morrígan so damn bad, maybe it's his fucking time.
I widen my eyes to see them clearly, and nod to Callum.
Cormac falls into the fire in slow motion. His robes go up in flames and the screams almost stop my mind from processing what I'm seeing.
The sound will live in my nightmares forever, but I can't look away.
When it stops, Callum turns to look at me, and framed in the fire, covered in blood and dirt, he looks like a fallen angel, beautiful and terrible and mine.
Time speeds up as Callum runs toward me.
"Zaria!"
My eyes close. I can't help it. The smoke has stolen too much of my breath.
"Zaria!"
His voice cuts through the fog.
I force my eyes open.
Callum is there, his face hovering above mine, and the expression he wears isn't triumph or victory. It's terror.
"Zaria, stay with me." His hands hold my face, leaving bloody prints on my cheeks. "Look at me. Look at me!"
I try to focus on his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes I want to see every morning for the rest of my life.
"C-Callum..." My voice is barely a whisper, hoarse and broken. "You came."
"Of course I fucking came," he says, his thumb brushing my cheek. "I'll always come for you."
His gaze drops to my shoulder, to the silver crow-winged handle still protruding from my flesh, and his jaw tightens.
"Zaria, I have to pull it out." His voice is steady now, commanding. "We need to leave, okay?"
I try to nod, but my head won't cooperate.
