Page 21 of Broken Fates (Severed Flames #3)

Chapter 21

Kian

T he house was too quiet.

That wasn’t right. Not after what just happened. Not after the Dreaming had looked at us. Not after Vale had stood there, hands covered in blood and fractured light, and told us exactly where we were going.

She should’ve been shaking. She should’ve been uncertain.

But she wasn’t.

She was standing there, one hand on the book, her jaw tight, green eyes glowing in the dim candlelight, like she was carved out of something more than just flesh and bone.

Like she belonged to the Dreaming itself.

It made something inside my chest squeeze too hard .

“Vale,” I said, my voice lower than I meant it to be. “You wanna explain to me why you’re so fucking sure about all this?”

Vale gripped the book like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the ground.

Her breathing was even, too even. The kind of calm that came before a storm, the kind I’d seen before a battlefield of slaughtered men who weren’t prepared for it. My gut twisted. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the look in her eyes, the surety in her stance—like she’d made peace with something we hadn’t.

Then she exhaled. “I died.”

The room stopped. No breath. No sound. Just that quiet, suffocating pause where the world wasn’t sure whether to keep turning.

Xavier stiffened first, his entire body tensing like he’d just been punched. “Vale?—”

“I died,” she repeated, her voice quiet and steady. Too steady. “When I tried to merge Rune and Idris the first time—when I failed. My heart stopped before I could finish it.”

Something ugly and sharp lodged in my chest.

I knew. Of course I knew. I was fucking there. I saw her body go slack, saw the light in her eyes flicker out. I remembered how it felt—standing there, watching my mate die, and being unable to do a damn thing about it.

But hearing her say it now? Like a fact, like something already buried in the past?

Like she’d made peace with it, and we hadn’t?

No. Fuck that.

Idris was the only one who didn’t react—because he’d already known. Rune knew. Of course they had.

But Xavier—Xavier was staring at her like she’d just cracked the ground open beneath him.

Vale inhaled. “Lirael brought me back.”

Xavier’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

I clenched my fists. My mouth opened to say something, but nothing would come out. I had no words. Nothing. I had a lot to say, but I just couldn’t. Not yet.

“You were gone,” Idris murmured. “We all felt you go.”

She nodded. “She told me my time wasn’t up.” Her fingers curled around the book. “And now, she’s telling me to trust what I am. Who I am.” She lifted her gaze, and something deep and unwavering settled there. “And after everything, I have to believe her.”

I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. Fuck. I turned, raking a hand through my hair, forcing down the sharp, visceral instinct to grab her and make her stay.

Because what the hell was I supposed to do with that? She had already died. And she still wanted to walk straight into the lion’s den?

I clenched my jaw. “I don’t fucking like it.”

She huffed a quiet breath. “Noted.”

Xavier let out a long, slow exhale, dragging a hand down his face. “I think what Kian means is that none of us like knowing we can’t protect you from this. We weren’t even the ones who brought you back.”

Vale’s gaze softened. “But I am back. And now, I’m going to save my sister because I know she’s telling me the truth. I was made for this.”

My pulse hammered, my mind already working through contingencies, exits, fallback points. I needed a plan. I needed a way to keep her alive—again.

I wouldn’t lose her twice.

I moved forward, crossing the space between us in three strides, ignoring the weight of Idris’ stare and Xavier’s tension. I stopped just close enough to press a hand to her hip, my fingers curling into the fabric of her tunic as I fought off the urge to toss her over my shoulder and race off the continent so she would be safe.

“If you die again,” I muttered, “I’m going to be fucking pissed.”

Vale’s lips twitched. “Good.”

Idris had been standing beside her, silent, his golden eyes dark with something unreadable. But at that, something in him shifted—like something had just clicked into place. He reached out, his fingers brushing her wrist, grounding her.

She let out a slow breath. “We don’t have time to waste,” she continued. “If the fractures are visible here, if the Dreaming is already bleeding into this world—then it means Zamarra is closer to waking than we thought.”

I exhaled through my nose. My grip on her tunic was too tight. I made myself loosen my fingers.

Fine. We were doing this.

There was something ritualistic about getting ready for a fight.

Shifters often undressed for a battle, refusing to lose gear or weapons to the changes in our bodies. Vale, meanwhile, did the opposite.

She tightened the buckles on the leathers covering her arms, adjusted the straps at her waist, prepared like she was walking onto a battlefield rather than mounting a dragon’s back. Because in a way—she was.

Talek muttered something under his breath as he pulled his own armor into place. He rolled his shoulders like his body was still weighed down by the magic that still clung to him in faint wisps. Like he was unraveling from the inside.

He was drained. Even if he wouldn’t admit it.

“You good?” I asked, because I wasn’t that much of an asshole.

He shot me a dry look. “I’m always good. Even when I’m not.”

Idris exhaled, cracking his knuckles. “You used a lot of magic earlier.”

Talek didn’t respond, but he didn’t have to. He was exhausted—anyone with half a brain could see it.

There was a brief pause before Idris lifted his palm, his magic flaring to life. “Take some.”

Talek’s eyes snapped to his, sharp with immediate refusal. “No.”

“You’re running on fumes,” Idris said flatly. “Take some.”

Talek’s jaw tightened. I wasn’t sure if it was pride or sheer stubbornness, but he didn’t move. Idris didn’t, either. Just waited. It took a long moment before Talek finally let out a slow breath, stepped forward, and pressed his palm to Idris’.

Magic lashed between them—sharp, bright, like a blade dragging through the air. Sparks crackled across their skin, power arcing from Idris’ palm to Talek’s fingers, disappearing into him as if he were drinking in a storm.

Talek swayed, just slightly, then exhaled, rolling his shoulders like he’d just dropped a heavy-laden weight.

When it was done, he pulled back, flexing his fingers as if he were testing them. He huffed. “I’ll pretend I don’t owe you for that.”

Idris smirked. “I was planning on pretending the same.”

The house groaned behind us as we stepped into the night, the last remnants of its warmth shutting out like a door closing behind us. Cold air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it.

Because for the first time, I saw them. The fractures.

Jagged lines of glowing light stretched across the sky, sharp and unnatural, as though someone had taken a knife to the fabric of the world. They pulsed in time with something I couldn’t name—something deeper, older, something watching. I swore under my breath. The map hadn’t lied.

The fractures were real. And they were everywhere.

Vale stopped dead beside me, her green eyes locked on the sky. “Gods.”

Xavier let out a slow, steady exhale. “Well. That’s fucking ominous.”

Idris said nothing, but his gaze tracked the fractures, sharp and assessing.

Even Talek—who never shut up—was quiet, his expression unreadable as the light of the fractures reflected in his strange, shifting eyes.

I lifted my arms above my head, stretching, forcing the tension down. We didn’t have time to stand around staring at the sky. I turned back to my brothers. “Shift.”

Xavier was already unstrapping his weapons, pulling them free and stuffing them into the leather satchel that would hang around his neck once he shifted. Idris did the same, moving with his usual efficiency, his expression tight, controlled. I shoved my own weapons into my satchel and pulled my shirt over my head.

Vale, meanwhile, was strapping the book to her chest beneath her armor.

I caught her wrist before she could pull away. “You stay on Idris. Talek’s with me.”

She frowned. “I could?—”

“I’m not fucking arguing with you.” My voice was sharper than I meant it, but I didn’t care. “You’re safer with him.”

Vale’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but after a moment, she nodded.

The shift happened in quick succession.

Idris went first. The air around him warped, rippling outward in a blast of heat, and a moment later, the massive scarlet dragon, who had once been my King, stretched his wings wide. Xavier followed, the crackle of magic vibrating through the air as he changed, pale and sleek in the night.

Then I let go.

The shift slammed through me, wrenching muscle and bone, tearing me apart to remake me into something more. Power flooded every inch of my being as I stretched into my full form, wings snapping wide, talons sinking into the dirt beneath me.

Talek let out a low, impressed whistle. “You lot are ridiculous.”

I paid him no mind, my gaze locked on my mate. My mate that was not moving. Not an inch.

She was standing rigid, still as stone, staring at Idris’ massive form like it was the enemy, like it was something she had to conquer but wasn’t sure she could. Her breath had turned shallow, too controlled, like she was forcing herself to be fine when she wasn’t.

Fuck. I forgot.

Vale wasn’t just afraid of heights. She was terrified of them. After being forced to watch people die from falling in the Guild, this wasn’t just discomfort. It was a trauma response.

She tried to mask it, but I saw the way her fingers trembled against the straps of her pack. Saw the stiffness in her shoulders, the way her jaw locked tight.

And I hated that she was scared. Hated that, once again, circumstances were forcing her to do this. Hated that I couldn't stop the fear clawing at her chest the way I wanted to.

But there was no other way.

I barely flicked my tail before Idris moved. He turned his massive scarlet and gold head toward her, lowering it, slow and steady. He exhaled softly, his breath ruffling her hair, warm instead of scorching. He wasn’t rushing her.

Neither did I.

She had already agreed to this. She had already decided she was going to do this. She just needed a second.

Idris made a low rumble in the back of his throat, something soft, something soothing.

Vale closed her eyes, just for a second. Then she let out a breath, grabbed the ridges of his scales, and hauled herself up.

I felt Xavier’s pulse through the bond, steady and careful.

“You good, Vale?” Idris’ voice was quiet, even in my mind.

Her grip tightened. “No. But I won’t let that stop me.”

I turned away before I did something stupid, like telling her we could find another way, and shook out my wings before lowering myself enough for Talek to climb on.

Talek exhaled sharply as he hauled himself onto my back. “You’re all very casual about using me as an accessory.”

I didn’t answer because frankly? I couldn’t feel him.

On my back, he weighed about as much as a feather. I didn’t want to bruise his ego by saying as much, but luckily in this form I didn’t have to bite my tongue. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop Vale from hearing me, anyway.

My voice slid into her mind, dry as hell. “Apologies, your highness. Should I make sure my scales are softer next time so your delicate ass is more comfortable?”

Vale snorted. Loudly. Then she let out the most beautiful laugh—one I’d been dying to hear for days now.

Talek blinked. “What the fuck did he just say? I know he said something.”

Vale coughed, struggling not to grin as she tightened her grip on Idris’ spines. “Nothing.”

Her heartbeat eased in my chest, her fear dimming. I huffed out a breath as I met Idris’ gaze.

“Let’s go.”

The wind howled as we tore through the sky, our wings cutting through the night like blades. The world below shrank, swallowed by darkness, while ahead, the fractures bled light into the night.

Vale was too quiet.

She clung to Idris’ back, her fingers locked around his spines in a white-knuckled grip. Her breathing was too controlled, her entire body coiled, as if she were forcing herself to be fine when she wasn’t.

I felt it. Sharp. Visceral.

Xavier’s voice crackled through the bond, low and careful. “Vale, you’re safe.”

She didn’t answer. Didn’t loosen her grip.

Then she did something that cracked my chest wide open.

She pressed her forehead against Idris’ scales, but only for a second.

A breath of trust.

A moment of grounding.

Then she straightened, her shoulders set, and her fingers flexed slightly against his hide.

That was it. Just a moment. But I felt it settle in my very being.

Good girl.

I forced my attention back to the sky—back to the fractures.

At first, they were just glowing wounds in the world—crawling over mountains, winding through forests, cutting through rivers. Some were thin, barely visible. Others were deep, gaping fissures, splitting the land like a blade through flesh.

And then I realized something else.

They weren’t static. They were moving. Shifting. Like something on the other side was trying to push through.

A low growl rumbled through my chest. Xavier let out a sharp snort from my left, and I felt him glance toward me. “You see it, too?”

“Yeah.”

Ahead, Vale turned slightly, her hair whipping in the wind. “The Dreaming is shifting. The fractures are getting worse.”

Great.

Then, a voice cut cleanly through the rushing wind, crisp and unnaturally clear.

Not a shout. Not a yell. A whisper carried on the air.

Talek. "We’re being followed."

I didn’t react outwardly, but I flicked a glance behind us. He wasn’t wrong. In the distance, far below, shadows slithered through the fractures. Moving. Twisting. Watching.

Zamarra’s creatures.

Talek’s voice rose on the wind again, his magic carrying it straight to me. "They’re not attacking yet." He paused for a beat. "They’re watching."

I bared my teeth as heat coiled in my chest. “Then let’s move faster.”

We cut through the night like a blade, chasing the fractures as they bled across the land. The farther we went, the more real they became. They weren’t just cracks anymore.

They were bleeding.

And up ahead, I saw it. A convergence. The fractures twisting together, merging into something denser. A focal point.

A door.

A low vibration throbbed through my bones. Not an attack. Not yet. Something was waiting.

And that’s when the sky erupted.

They came from everywhere.

Shadows ripped free from the fractures below, exploding upward in a storm of black fire and claws, their skull-splitting screeches deafening.

A pulse of dark magic slammed into my chest, forcing me to snap my wings wide to counter the force. I snarled, whipping my head around as another blast shot toward Xavier.

He twisted sharply, his pale form cutting through the sky as he narrowly dodged.

The creatures were wrong. They flickered between solid and smoke, reforming mid-lunge. They moved too fast, like they were skipping through time. And when Idris crushed one in his jaws, it shattered into black glass.

But it didn’t stay dead. No, the shards twisted and writhed, reforming before my eyes.

“Well, that’s fucking great.”

Talek cursed every god he knew of as we banked to avoid them. "Of fucking course. Because why would this ever be fucking easy?"

His voice carried effortlessly through the howling wind, his magic slicing through the storm like a razor.

I bared my teeth. “Remember when all we had to worry about was Girovian mages with dragon bolts?”

Xavier snorted through the bond as his talons shredded another shadow. “Damn, I miss those days.”

Then one grabbed Vale.

It happened in a flash: a blur of shifting shadows, claws wrapping around her like a noose.

Before Xavier or I could get to her, Talek ripped the air apart. A blast of wind howled between us, peeling the creature back before it could wrench her from Idris’ back.

I snapped my jaws shut, catching it midair. It shattered between my teeth, dissolving into smoke.

Vale’s grip tightened, but her voice rang clear through the link. “Stop talking and start killing these fuckers.”

Xavier let out a sharp, rumbling laugh, already twisting midair, his wings beating hard as he spun to face the oncoming wave.

“Gladly.”

I didn’t hesitate. I let the heat in my chest build. Let it grow wild, feral, uncontrollable.

Then I opened my jaws and let hell rain down.

But my flames could only do so much.

Talek’s voice cut through the chaos. "Something’s coming. Bigger."

I didn’t need to ask what. I didn’t even want to know what. Too bad I most definitely would find out.

The fractures below pulsed violently. Something was pushing through. The creatures weren’t attacking anymore—no, they were falling back.

Not retreating. Waiting .

Xavier banked toward the convergence. "We need to move—now."

Idris surged forward, Vale holding tight.

The convergence opened—a slashing tear in reality itself, pulling us forward.

I unleashed one last burst of dragon fire, carving a burning path through the creatures still swarming below.

The moment we crossed the threshold, I felt it. A ripping sensation, like something had just grabbed hold of my ribs and yanked me forward.

The world fractured.

One of the creatures slipped through with us. With a final shadow-laced snarl, its twisted form flickered between solid and smoke. Mangled claws stretched for me—for Vale.

Then the world wrenched sideways.

The convergence tore open wider, the pull of it a force stronger than gravity, stronger than the wind. A rush of silver light, burning cold and endless.

The Dreaming swallowed us whole.

As a violent crack of reality split apart, everything fractured, ricocheting through my chest.

And then, we fell.