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Xander and Reese step through the portal and it snaps closed.
“Which way?” I scan the unfamiliar halls surrounding us.
“Healing pools or burn room.” Flint rakes his hands through his black hair, the scar on his face flicking in and out of view as he loses his hold on the glamour. “I don’t know which would be better.”
“She’s a firebird.” Reese’s unfocused gaze settles on Merri. “She needs fire, not magic.”
“This way.” Flint spins on his heel and races down the hall to the left.
I stick close to his heels, my pulse racing. I can’t lose her, not now, not when I’ve only just won her back. There are so many things we have yet to do.
The flame inside me roars, desperate to burst free and engulf Merri’s frigid body in warmth.
Concern fills Xander’s eyes as he looks at her. “Is there anything we can do?”
“Once we’re inside, seal us in so nothing can get out.” I bring Merri closer to my chest, trying to warm her with my heat. “Evacuate the school, too, in case the situation goes downhill.”
“Right.” Xander ducks into a classroom, and a moment later, his voice echoes through the school’s speaker system. “This is an emergency. All teachers and upper-level ward students report to the burn room. Everyone else, please calmly and quietly make your way to the barn and await further instruction. I repeat…”
Worry fills Reese’s eyes. “Do you think it’s going to be that bad?”
I stare down at my lady’s frozen features. “It depends on whether Merri or the firebird wakes first.”
We reach a reinforced door at the end of the hall, and Flint hauls it open.
I walk past him into the barren room. Thick cement walls surround us on all sides, with only a metal table at the center and a blast screen off to one side.
Turning, I meet Flint’s eyes. “Keep her here with us.”
“I will. I’ll use the speaker in the room to warn you if anything changes.” He starts to close the door but pauses. “Don’t take too long.”
With a heavy thud, he locks us inside the room.
I sink onto the floor, Merri cradled in my lap. Her ash-blond hair hangs lifeless, her golden lashes form fans on her pale cheeks, and blue tints her lips.
Will this work? Can I bring Merri back without taking her too far in the other direction and killing her? The fire within me flares in response, the heat a welcome respite from the chill rising from her body.
In the past, Merri and I tested each other’s limits, pushing our boundaries, but that was before the betrayal. Before we were cursed to be reborn forever.
If we die in ash today, will the others remind us of who we are right now? Will Merri remember that she forgave me?
Even if she forgets, I cannot let her spark be snuffed out. Better to live a thousand more years with her hate than a single moment without her in this world.
With a deep breath, I place my hand over her stomach, and flame rises to the surface of my skin. Her clothing catches fire, quickly engulfing her body and spreading to mine.
The blaze dances and crackles around us, seeking to return to me, but I refuse them access, willing them to burn through the ice caging my love.
“Come on, Merri.” I shake her gently. “Take what you need.”
Smoke fills the room, and the flames begin to die down as they lose their fuel.
“My lady, come back to us.” I lift her limp form and cup the back of her head. “You’re stronger than this. We need you.”
Leaning down, I press my mouth against hers, coax her frozen lips open, and send fire down her throat. If she can’t draw in the flames, then I will force them into her.
Her body twitches, her eyes moving behind her translucent lids, and the fragile thread of her life strengthens, flickering like a candle in the wind.
Relief sweeps through me, and I pull her closer, feeding her more of my energy.
