Page 204 of A Fate in Flames

More tears came hot and fast, burning tracks down my cheeks.

“I would do it all again in a heartbeat for you… for Theo.”Tavrik shot me a sideways grin.“But don’t tell him I said that.”

I met his eyes with fierce determination.“I will get you back to her.”

The words weren’t just a promise, they were a vow.One I would burn into fate itself if I had to.

I pressed my pinkie to my lips—the sacred gesture between Theo and me.And now, Tavrik too.

Something lit in his eyes—hope breaking through the sadness like light through the darkest clouds.He knew I’d doing anything it took to keep this promise.

“How come he gets to put his arm around you, but whenIdo it, you shove me off?”

Theo’s voice cut in from behind us.I had almost forgotten he was there.

I glanced over my shoulder, smirking.“Because Tavrik doesn’t annoy me.”

Theo scoffed, crossing his arms.“Cause Tavrik doesn’t annoy me,” he mimicked in a high-pitched, terrible imitation of my voice.

I spun on my heel.

Theo flinched, bracing for impact, but instead of hitting him, I threw my arms around his waist, squeezing him tight.

“I love you, Theo.”

His entire body went rigid.It took him a second to relax, his arms slowly embracing me.

I pulled away and turned to Tavrik, squeezing him in a fierce hold.

“I love you too.I could’ve never done this on my own.Thank you.”

As we kept walking, the sky had begun to darken, stars flickering to life.The moon rose over the horizon, spilling its pale glow across the land.

We were almost there.Almost home.

A cold, gnawing feeling, pressed deep within my bones, settling in my marrow like ice.

Something wasn’t right.It was like I was walking toward my own death.

The village lay draped in the hush of night.The streets, once alive with voices and flashing lanterns, now seemed smaller, unfamiliar.

Smooth clay walls lined our path, a stark difference to the jagged terrain that had become my new reality.The air smelled clean, untouched by the decay of magic that had saturated the Jinn realm.

Theo’s house stood among the others, dark and lifeless.Something about it felt emptier than the rest.I searched his face for a shred of recognition, but he didn’t even look at it.

His jaw was set, eyes fixed straight ahead.

The place that had once held his family now meant nothing.

I wanted to say something, to reach for him, but no words came.Instead, I kept my eyes locked ahead to the winding paths—to all the places we had once run wild.

The memories were distant, yet so clear.

I tugged on Theo’s arm, pointing toward the old oak standing tall in the village centre.

“Remember that tree?”

Smiling, he craned his head up to look up at its gnarled limbs stretching towards the sky.