Page 97 of A Fate in Flames

“What happened to her?”

“I choose to believe that she had no knowledge of the Veil’s creation.That she was innocent of the betrayal that would sever our worlds,” he said, his voice catching.“When it happened, we were torn apart.Literally.Our bodies ripped from each other like the realms themselves were being split at the seams.I remember screaming her name until my throat bled.The ground cracked beneath my feet, and all I could think of—through the chaos, the terror, the fury—was her.Where she was.If she was still breathing.If she was reaching for me too.”

I covered my mouth, attempting to stifle a sob.

“The Veil slammed shut,” he said with terrible finality.“And my world went silent.”

The pain etched across his features shattered me, as if his grief had become my own.

“When we discovered the Veil’s imperfection,” he continued, “the knowledge that mortals could still pass through…” he pressed his palm flat against his chest as if to contain something trying to escape.“Hope surged through me.Consuming reason.Caution.It burned away everything but the possibility of seeing her.”

His breathing grew rapid now, as if the memory was overwhelming him all over again.

“I waited at the Veil.I paced the entirety until I knew every inch, every fluctuation, every whisper of magic.”His hands curled into fists.“Days bled into months.Months dissolved into years.Years collapsed into decades.”

He shook his head.

“She never came back.”

“Belshin…” I whispered, my throat closing.Tears streaming down my face.I reached across the table and took his hand, holding him like I could somehow change the ending.

“I’m so sorry.”.

“Don’t be,” he said, his voice returning to that calm, otherworldly stillness.“As I said… it was long ago.”

But the way he looked at the forbidden book of Black Magic, just for an instant, made me wonder.What secrets did it hold?

We made our way back to the others, each step down the spiral stairs echoing through the silence.Belshin needed to return to his duties, but he promised to tell me more about this realm.About the other dominions, and of what once was.

His story had cracked open something deep within me.The Jinn were like us.They felt, they loved, they bled from wounds invisible to the eye.

“Thank you so much,” I said.“Not just for showing me more of the library, but for showing me more of you.”

He smiled genuinely, the light returning to his eyes.“You’re welcome, and thank you.”

“For what?”

“For listening.For allowing me the chance to say her name again.”

He turned, his navy robes billowing behind him as he strode toward a group who were clearly waiting for assistance.

“There you are!”Mira appeared at my elbow, her body angled awkwardly to compensate for the tower of books stacked in her arms.“Where were you?I’ve been waiting forever.”

“Belshin was just showing me more of the library.”I reached out to steady a book that threatened to topple from her pile.“I guess I lost track of time.Sorry to keep you waiting.”

She scrunched her nose and shook her head, her hair dancing around her face.“I don’t mind, as long as you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did.Thank you for bringing me.”

We proceeded toward the doors, shoulders brushing as we manoeuvred between tables.Tavrik and Theo materialised from between two towering shelves, Tavrik clutching a single leather-bound tome in his hand while Theo clutched, well… nothing besides the last of Tavrik’s sanity.Theo was still actively trying to annoy him while they made their way to the exit.

I nudged Mira.“More romance books?Or did you branch out into adventure this time?”

“Obviouslystill romance.” She giggled, nudging me back, the books in her arms wobbling dangerously.“Not everyone wants to read about bloody battles and downfalls of empires like some people.”

Her gaze slid pointedly to Tavrik.

“Yeah, some of us prefer to read about the rise of… other things,” Theo interjected, waggling his eyebrows so aggressively I feared they might detach from his face entirely.