Page 125 of Flameborne: Chosen

Haughty bastard.

35. Swallow Me Whole

~ BREN ~

‘Little Flame… Bren? Wake up. I have a message.’

I opened my eyes and rolled over in my narrow bed, groaning when even the small sliver of light around the door into the stable pierced like blades. Clapping hands over my eyes and massaging my forehead, I tried to settle the roiling in my stomach.

What the hell happened? Why did I feel sick?

Unfortunately, the answers rushed in.

The flight assessment.

The roll.

Saul.

His brothers.

The man in the bar.

Donavyn…

“Oh shit,” I whispered, then swallowed hard as a wave of nausea rose in my throat.

Donavyn standing over me in the alleyway in the city.

Donavyn piggy-backing me to the Reach.

Donavyn in the stable.

A creeping sense of dread bubbled in my already churning stomach.

Donavyn talking, complimenting me. Donavyn staring. Those eyes… sweet words… concern… My hand on his chest. And it feltsafe.

I never feel safe anymore.

But the memories kept coming, and with them, my horror grew.

My hand in his hair.

My lips on his and his on mine and—

“Oh, shit,Akhane!”I gasped and sat up to find myself still fully clothed and in the same shirt and leathers I’d worn the night before. Head spinning and aching, stomach roiling. “Akhane, what do I do?!”

‘Drink water and eat breakfast. But do so quickly. You have class this morning. You’re going to be late.’

I went utterly still. I’d forgotten about that.Shit!

A string of colorful curses spewed from my lips—my brothers had rubbed off on me—as I rolled to my feet, pleading with God to give me a valid reason not to go. My heart thumped too fast and my pulse banged like a drum in my aching skull as I stripped off the sticky clothes from the night before, refusing to look too closely at some of the spots and grime on my shirt. Then, with shaking hands, I poured water into the basin in the corner and splashed it on my face. But I was reeling.

Class was usually brief—a chance for Ronen to instruct me, and my brothers to share their experience. But the idea of walking into a closed-in room with all of them afterthat night…

My lips burned—and so did my cheeks. With shame.

They’d know. They’d see it on me.