Page 35 of A Fate in Flames

Tavrik’s hand flashed to his hip, seizing the hilt of his dagger.In one fluid motion he drew and released it, the blade tumbling end over end through the air with deadly precision.A soft thud followed as steel met flesh, and the creature dropped mid-stride.

I spun around to Theo with deliberate slowness—pivoting my entire body, arching one eyebrow so high it threatened to disappear into my hairline.

“Shut.Up.”Theo muttered, shoving past me, his shoulder knocking me into a dense bush.

I extracted myself with as much dignity as possible, plucking thorns from my sleeve while he examined Tavrik’s kill.

“I didn’t actually say anything,” I called out with fake innocence.

“Yourfacesaid enough,” he shot back without turning around.

I laughed and followed, my empty stomach driving me forward despite my reluctance to see a fresh kill.

The Zahran fox lay on its side, unnaturally still.Its coat gleamed like burnished copper, beautiful even in death, with yellow eyes now glazed and vacant.A small trickle of blood matted the fur around its neck where the blade had found its mark.

Tavrik knelt beside the fox, retrieving his dagger with practiced efficiency.He wiped it clean on his trousers before returning it to the sheath at his hip.

“I feel sad now,” I admitted, wrapping my arms around my middle to quiet my obnoxiously loud stomach.“I want to eat it and cry at the same time.”

“Don’t be.”Tavrik reached down and carefully pried open the creature’s mouth.The fox’s lips pulled back to reveal razor-sharp canines, unnaturally white against the dark muzzle.“One bite from this and you would’ve had a slow death.Muscles seize.You can’t breathe.Takes days, sometimes.”

My eyes widened.

“So…” Theo chimed in with unexpected cheerfulness.“Are we eating this thing or not?”

Tavrik and I turned to stare at him.

“What?”Theo crossed his arms defensively.“The poison’s probably just in the teeth, right?”

“I wouldn’t eat it if I were you,” Tavrik said, pointing to the fox’s paws where visible black lines traced the fleshy pads like dark veins.“Venom sacs run through the entire body.Cook it wrong and you’ll be paralysed before you finish swallowing.”

Theo let out an exasperated sigh.

We moved on, stepping carefully around the beautiful butuselessfox.With each passing hour, our hunger grew from a mild discomfort to a gnawing presence.The handful of berries we had gathered earlier sat in the pit of my stomach like pebbles.

The sun began its slow descent, the unbearable heat giving way to the first whispers of an evening chill.Thankfully, we found a small space among the trees to rest for the night.

Theo and Tavrik moved with purpose, gathering armfuls of dry twigs and branches from the forest floor.They built a large pile, and soon a crackling fire blazed before us, its warm light pushing back the gathering shadows and promising our chilled bones comfort for the long night ahead.

The flames danced hypnotically, small sparks shooting upward like dying stars against the darkening sky.I scooted closer to the heat, stretching my hands out to capture its warmth.My skin tingled as blood returned to my numb fingers.Despite the glow, all I truly wanted was to be home.I wrapped my arms around myself, my hair falling forward to create a curtain between me and the world.

My mind drifted to my mother—to the fine lines that had appeared at the corners of her eyes.To the way she hummed while crushing herbs, to how her arms felt wrapped around me, safe and certain.

A tremendous snort-wheeze-rumble shattered my thoughts.My head snapped up.

Across the fire, Tavrik had already surrendered to exhaustion, his back propped against one of the tree trunks.

I pressed my lips together, trying to contain my laughter, but when his exhale whistled through his nose with the force of a teakettle, I snorted.

Beside me, Theo silently mimicked Tavrik’s facial expression—mouth slightly open, head lolled to one side—and pretended to saw logs with exaggerated arm movements.

I buried my face against my knees, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.When I finally looked up, Theo was fighting to keep his own eyes open, his mimicking forgotten.Within minutes, he too had drifted into sleep’s embrace, curling on his side with one arm tucked under his head as a makeshift pillow.The firelight softened his features, making him look younger, like the boy I’d grown up with.

I watched the flames for a while longer, until exhaustion tugged at my eyelids, making them impossibly heavy.

With the last of my energy, I crawled over to Theo and flopped down beside him.I grabbed his limp arm and wrapped it around me like a blanket, tucking it tight against my chest.He murmured something then adjusted, his body curving protectively around mine.

I took deep, steady breaths, matching my rhythm to his.