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“De-von.”
“De-von.”
“De-von.”
An image of the female with the copper skin wearing a form-fitting dress appears. Her hair is a lush cloud of curls surrounding her beautiful face. Her lips are curled into a smile and the emotion shining from her dark brown eyes hits me straight in the chest. It’s her. My heart’s fire.
“Devon,” I rasp out.
Her smile grows wider exposing her white, blunt teeth. The other voice is so loud it pounds through my ears and my head in a steady beat.
“De-von.”
I let the voice filter through me, taking it in and allowing it to become a part of me. An ember sparks deep in my belly and flares to life. Flames grow from it, birthed by the intense need to reach my mate. I don’t fight the fire that threatens to consume me. I embrace it. When my body is alight with the heat of a thousand suns, I face the door once more.
With small steps, I move closer. Its color changes as the flames begin to consume it. Using the other voice, I attach my own and roar. A stream of fire erupts from my throat and shoots out of my mouth. It doesn’t stop until the door has been incinerated, leaving nothing but a frame and the open doorway. I somehow call back the fire and swallow it down.
I walk across the threshold, and memories hit me one after another nearly knocking me off my feet. My father dying. Becoming the crown prince. Learning of our cursed bloodline. The rebellion. The attacks on Preska. The madness taking over. My time in the pit. My beautiful heart’s fire. Our first mating and every one after. Giving Devon my mating mark. Learning Janik’s true identity as my brother. I remember meeting with Horek, Carrik, and Janik to discuss the female and male behind the rebellion. Then, I remember nothing at all except this dark place.
A ripple of awareness runs over me. I need to find Devon. She’s in danger. I run even though I can see nothing in front of me within the mist. I run, because my heart’s fire’s life depends on it. Up ahead, a faint light shines. My pace increases and the light grows bigger. Brighter. Blinding. Still, I keep running until I run straight into it.
I push with all my strength against the hold it has on me. It shatters like glass. Alarms blare. Voices call out. I open my eyes not knowing what to expect. Shards lie in pools around me, and I’m inside some kind of narrow enclosure. A worried face appears above me. One I recognize.
“Alik,” Horek says my name on a ragged breath.
The lid opens, and I know where I am. The healing facility. He helps me sit up.
“Thank the gods you’re awake.”
“What happened?”
Vornak enters the room. “You had some sort of attack nearly four days ago while meeting with Horek, Carrick, and Janik. Do you remember anything?”
I try to recall. “We were in the throne room discussing my father, Carrik’s father, a missing female, and her lover who were the true leaders behind the rebellion.”
“Yes,” Horek replies. “You said you needed a moment to think. A few ticks later, you collapsed and have been in the healing facility ever since.”
I glance around. “Where’s Devon?”
My cousin and the healer share a glance. One that makes flames inside me spark to life.
“Where is she?” The voice isn’t mine and yet it belongs to me.
The two males stare at me in shock. Horek finally answers. “Gone.”
In a single blink, I have him pinned against the wall with my hand wrapped around his throat. He struggles to breathe and claws at my wrist. Smoke pours from my nose. My vision is filled with fire. “What do you mean, gone?”
“Alik,” the healer tentatively says my name. “Be at peace. Release Horek. Please Your Highness.”
Whatever madness has come over me evaporates and regret takes its place. I push away from Horek in horror and bow my head in contrition. “Forgive me, cousin.”
Horek rubs his neck and coughs. “All is forgiven, but it’s not important. What is, is that Devon is gone and we need to find her.”
“Tell me what happened?”
Chapter 26
Devon
