Page 163 of Burn of the Everflame

I tried to cry out, but with no voice, no air, I only managed a desperate croak.

He leaned down, snarling in my face. “You should have come back the second you heard. And she should have warned us.”

My eyelids fluttered as consciousness began to recede. I could feel my heartbeat slowing, my vision spotting, my thoughts fading . . .

He’s going to kill me.

I’m going to die.

And then everyone else will die, too.

“Good,” Symond growled as he squeezed the last gasps of life from my throat. “Let this whole fucking world suffer and rot just like him.”

A baby’s cries floated from the darkness—the one vulnerable mind he hadn’t seized. I clung to the sound as my heart gave its last, defiant thumps.

My final thought was of Luther, and how much I would miss him.

I was almost too far gone to feel the fingers unwrap from my throat. There was a light hovering over me, flickering red and gold. It was warm like fire, and blissfully welcoming, a bright beacon in the glacial shadows.

The Everflame had come to call me home.

Breathe.

The thought was not my own, but my body obeyed. Compelled by Umbros magic, my chest rose with a shallow rasp.

Breathe again.

Again.

The commands kept coming, and my lungs kept filling. The world came back into focus, though the firelight beckoning me forward did not go away. A tiny glowing ember floated loose from its flames and fluttered toward me. When it landed on my cheek, a sharp burst of pain sliced through my half-conscious daze.

I shot upright and gulped in air, nearly colliding with the torch Drusila held as she knelt at my side. “Are you alright?” she asked.

I couldn’t even think an answer. My head was throbbing, my throat was aching. To my right, a door slammed open and cracked against the stone.

“Get out of this realm,” Symond snarled.

“Symond,” Drusila said, “after what we saw, we have to go with her.”

“We’re not going anywhere with her.” He turned his glare on the others. “If anyone tries to join her, I’ll execute you on the spot. She can fight on her own, like she left us to do.”

Drusila pressed her lips together. She offered a hand and helped me to my feet.

“Symond,” I managed to croak out, “the world is at risk.”

“Get. Out.”

“Just go,” Drusila whispered, nudging me toward the door.

I held my ground. This was too important. I had to make him see. “The Centenaries can’t hide in this cage forever,” I said. “That’s not a life worth living⁠—”

“How dare you speak to me of a life worth living?” he roared. He flew across the room and snatched me by the hair, bending his wrath-red face to mine. “You sacrificed us all for your mate. What good did it do? The gods gave you more time, and you’re throwing it away.”

He dragged me to the doorway and pushed me through with a violent shove.

“Show your face in this realm again, and I’ll kill you.”

The door slammed shut.