Page 17

SOLAN

Trees groan and sway, their ancient roots clinging to soil that might soon be replaced by something other.

The merges have grown more frequent, chaotic. Each one feels like a ticking clock, its echoes in the distance warning of worse to come. My jaw clenches. It’s only a matter of time before the queen’s hunters come calling. And if they don’t find what they’re looking for?

I will. I’ll have no choice if it’s demanded of me—my price for a relatively quiet life.

The thought sends a growl rumbling low in my chest. Myra’s Crossing depends on order, and enforcing it is my job. Not because I want it to be, but because the queen has her claws in me. I’m strong, dangerous. My fire makes sure of that. I’ve always known it’s why she keeps me close: to hunt, judge, and carry out her will.

I have it easier, better than many others, but her rule stings all the same.

The light in the sky fractures, a jagged line splitting through it. My stomach tightens. Almost as soon as it began, the shaking ceases, the forest settling into an uneasy silence. The suymi , small birdlike creatures that live high in the canopy, shriek their displeasure before fleeing, leaving behind an oppressive stillness.

It’s over.

Or it should be.

I feel the snap before my brain catches up to the sensation. Something primal roars to life in my chest, hot and untamed. My fire stirs, eager, ravenous, like it knows what I don’t.

My fated is here. My bonded.

The realisation rocks me. My blood sings in a way it never has, a melody so consuming, it leaves no room for doubt. I stagger a step, fists clenched as the inferno inside me threatens to escape. Whoever they are, they’ve crossed into this world. And they’re mine just as much as I’m theirs.

No hesitation. I act fast, grabbing a bow, a quiver of arrows, and my blades from the stash on my wall. They’re crude weapons for someone like me, but if the sovereign’s forces are nearby, I can’t risk using fire openly. I attach my blades to my chest straps, my mind already racing ahead of my feet.

I follow the pull in my chest, an invisible thread drawing me forwards. Hours pass, each one stretching my nerves tighter. The trees blur into a haze of orange and green as I run. I refuse to think of what might happen if someone else finds them first.

The sound of crashing and shouting shatters the quiet. My heart lurches. It’s close.

Then the scent of blood. Sweet, impossibly familiar. My fated’s. The scent is unique and known despite me never smelling it before. They’ve been hurt.

I pick up speed, ignoring the burn in my muscles. The forest opens into a small clearing, and I spot it: a six-legged behemoth, its scaled body gleaming under Terrafeara’s strange sun. It’s a klaustras as large as a takari transport pod back home and twice as deadly. Its serrated fangs drip venom, its massive claws tearing through foliage as it searches for its prey.

For what’s mine.

Not today.

I nock an arrow, aiming for the soft spot beneath its jaw. The string hums as I let the arrow fly, striking true. The klaustras screeches, its massive head swinging towards me, but I’m already moving, loosing another arrow that buries deep into its exposed throat.

That’s when I see them. Him.

Through the trees, past the beast, a human man stands protectively in front of a small human on top of the Earth horses. His clothing is strange and unfamiliar, but there’s no mistaking the fire in his gaze. He holds a weapon from Earth, his stance braced despite the tremor in his hands.

My heart slams against my ribs. He’s beautiful.

He’s mine.

The klaustras lunges towards them, bloodied but determined. My fire surges, demanding release. I let it. Flames race down my arms, engulfing the arrow I nock next. When I let it fly, it explodes on impact, the beast’s screech cutting off as it collapses in a heap of charred flesh.

The man stares at the dead klaustras , wide-eyed and wary, the small human shaking.

“Come,” I demand, my words deep and barely controlled. He could have died, been killed before I got the chance to even know his name. I latch onto the English words floating in my head, ones I’ve spent years deciphering. “There will be more. Klaustras hunt in packs. That will have been its scout.”

The man hasn’t seen me yet. With a hitch in my breath and a pounding heart, I step out of the cover of the dense forest.

“You and the human child, come with me if you want to live,” I say, my words a little stilted. I’ve learned them from one of the human leader’s moving pictures—the ones I watched on the TV I scavenged from a previous rift. They felt right to use.

For a moment, he doesn’t move. His gaze flicks to the still-smoking corpse of the klaustras , then back to me. I don’t breathe, waiting for his decision.

Finally, he steps forwards on the horse, the child within touching distance.

My heart fills, an overwhelming mix of relief and something deeper I can’t name.

I lead the way, my senses on high alert as we navigate the forest. Every step feels like a victory, but I know the real battle has just begun.

He’s here. He’s mine.

Now I just have to keep him alive long enough to make him see it. But I will. As deeply and as completely as I know myself, I know I will not fail to make sure the human lives, becomes mine, and shares my fire, embracing it as if it’s his own.

Once he has, we’ll be forever. Because I am , and he… he is my destiny, my flame, the reason my fire was ever born.

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