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Then glimmering sparks burst inside the flames around her.

Alora unfurled her numb fists by her side and released an unbearable scream.

She was not the darkness she endured. She was the fire. The whole starsdamned roaring inferno. A deathly explosion of destruction.

Body buckling beneath the wounds deep in her heart and the scars covering her mind, her knees slammed into the ground. It happened with such force that the dirt scattered and sprayed out around her. She fisted her aching fingertips into her hair, pulling tightly.

And screamed, again. Releasing another powerful eruption.

Higher, higher, higher.

Further and further.

She wailed until her lungs turned to ash.

Someone cried out to her, deep in the depths of her mind.

Another voice echoed from the forest behind, but it was nothing more than a whisper. “Alora, stop. You can’t do this.Someone could see!” The voice grew closer.

Alora’s back buckled as the seemingly unstoppable tears ruthlessly plummeted down her face. She slammed her fists to the earth, sparks exploding inside the flames. Heavy sobs choked the air from her throat. Each gasp of air harder and harder to collect as her vision dotted and blurred.

Barely feeling anything, satin hands cupped her stinging cheeks, the flames scorching perfect aristocratic skin. And that usually silvery voice shrieked in agony the longer they held there,“Alora, please!”The tone as brutal as the heat around them.

Even if she wanted to, the flames wouldn’t die. Not until every memory of what Kaine had done was burned away.

She whipped her head up from the ground, opening her blurred eyes, seeing nothing but the hazy, dancing white.

The hands released her and pulled out of the firestorm, calling to her above the roar instead. “You need to stop! The forest, it’ll catch fire!”

You can do this.The voice … it was there.Just breathe.

One breath.

Two.

Then three.

With each inhale, her inferno diminished, until minute smoldering embers were left in her shaking palms. Thick smoke wrapped her firmly, making it impossible to see anything beyond it. She looked into the whorls of gray tendrils and clouds of darkened ash, slowly focusing on a tall figure’s ringed hand reaching through the swirls. Close enough to smell leather and metal.

Black clothing blended in with the wisps as hair, masked in the shade of the smoke, swirled around troubled, colorless eyes.

You are alright.The voice comforted. Her breaths deepened.Keep breathing.

She blinked through the remaining tears spilling over her bottom lashes and reached out as the diminishing smoky cage began to fade away. Her hand grabbed a blistering, burned palm, and then it was pulling her from the ground. The smoke disappeared like a ripple in a lake, and she glimpsed the sun, the cliff edge, and the green valley beyond.

Standing inches from her, a male in burned navy clothing gazed with widened, ice-blue eyes. Disheveled, light golden hair twitched in the cool breeze as he clasped his blistered hands around her shoulders. “Are you okay?” he asked, carefully raking his eyes from her white hair to boot tips.

Not entirely sure how to answer that question, Alora pulled away from his grasp, no matter how gentle and reassuring it felt.

“I’m”—she gasped—“I’m so sorry. I was … I … Kaine.” Her voice caught in a whimper.

“It’s fine. You're fine,” he breathed. A seared hand reached for her again. Guilt followed it.

Alora’s lips quivered, unable to speak. Unable to gather a single sound thought. Her shaking hand brushed down her fingers, pulling them each tight to relieve a painful ache. It was all she could do. Find the ache, relieve it, and travel back up her arm, pulling her blue sleeve with the movement.

“I’m so sorry, Rowlen,” she repeated.

Ice-blue eyes narrowed on her sleeve. On what had been hidden underneath. Rowlen puffed his chest, gritting his teeth as he swore under his breath. “I’ll kill him.”