Page 98 of A Fate in Flames

Mira’s face bloomed crimson, the flush spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.

I laughed carelessly as we stepped out the doors and into the corridor, the change in lighting momentarily blinding after the dim interior of the library.

Then we froze as one, muscles seizing mid-step.Our spines straightening as if yanked by invisible strings.

Dalkhan approached from the opposite direction, his tall figure commanding the space.His dark hair was pulled back tightly from his face, accentuating the sharp angles of his cheekbones and the perfect symmetry of features that belonged on ancient sculptures rather than flesh.He was headed directly toward the library entrance.

We bowed our heads.My gaze fixed on the floor, counting cracks in the stone in attempt to steady my racing pulse.

Time slowed, stretching each heartbeat into an eternity.I dared a glance up through my lashes, blood rushing to my ears loud enough to drown out rational thought.

As he drew near, his hand brushed against mine, fingertips brushing against my knuckles.An accidental touch that was anything but.The brief contact sent an unwelcome spark crackling up my arm and into my chest.Azmik was wrapped around his shoulders, scales rippling with living flame.His little head craned toward me as they passed.

But Dalkhan kept moving, his jaw set in a hard line, as if I was nothing more than a shadow on the wall.

Anger flared in me.His slight touch, but lack of acknowledgment was all the confirmation I needed.Every moment between us—the kiss, the hunt, his whispered words—it was all just a game.

And I was the fool who had willingly stepped onto the board.

Heat flooded my face.I watched as he walked away, his arrogance a tangible thing trailing behind him.

Just as he reached the threshold, he slowed.Turned his head just enough for me to catch the line of his profile.The corner of his mouth lifted in what could’ve been acknowledgement or mockery before he disappeared into the shadows of the library.

I pushed down the mess of emotions clawing at my throat—frustration sharp as thorns, confusion thick as fog, and something far more dangerous that pulsed with every beat of my treacherous heart.I forced my focus on the path ahead, picking up speed to fall back in line with the others.To outpace the memory of that final, maddening almost-glance.

I paced my room, internally screaming.

Being in this realm—within these walls, was starting to affect me in ways I’d never thought possible.It was freeing and suffocating all at once.

Panic surged in my chest like a tide breaking against rocks, and I clutched my throat with trembling fingers.

I needed a window.Something, anything other than these suffocating mountain walls.

How I missed the days of cursing the sunlight for being too bright.When I would draw curtains closed and seek comfort in my home rather than out of it.Now I wanted nothing more than to be outside, to feel the breeze tangling through my hair.To let the sun sear my skin with its heat.

I threw myself onto the bed and grabbed the pillow, shoving it tightly against my face.I screamed and screamed, the sound swallowed by the plush filling.My body convulsed with each wail.

“Breathe.”

Zaheera’s voice drifted through my mind, delicate tendrils of calm reaching into the chaos of my thoughts.Like a gentle balm soothing my frayed nerves.

I tore the pillow away, damp strands of hair plastered to my cheeks and forehead.

“It’s too much,” I whispered, voice cracking.“This is all just too much for me.”

“What has happened for you to feel this way?” Her presence continued to stroke my thoughts, each caress easing the tension in my shoulders.

My eyelids drooped, my body sinking deeper into the mattress.My voice broke.“I want to go home.”

“I know, sweet girl, and you will.” Her voice carried the impression of a smile, a phantom touch against my brow.

I sat up quickly, blood rushing from my head, leaving me dizzy.

“Your power to see visions of the future, do you control them?Can you see when this will end for me?”

She chuckled.“I cannot force my visions.They come to me when fate would have me see them.”

My shoulders slumped, hope vanishing.