AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lavinia stepped up to me and offered me a bottle of water. Where had she gotten this? I didn’t care. I took the bottle and chugged the water.
The vampire came back and handed the washcloth to Thea and Almae.
“Thank you, Meredith,” Almae said. That was her name.
The three of them dampened the washcloth and cleaned the soot from Raika’s skin. Raika let out a long sigh, as if the chilliness in the washcloths was a balm to her hot skin. Even from the edge of the bed, I still could feel the heat radiating from her body, though it was much better now.
“Let me look at you,” Meredith said.
I frowned. “Why?”
She held my wrists and extended my arms. I inhaled sharpy as I took in the red, angry skin on my arms. Thankfully, my apprehension toward Raika and the adrenaline from the moment had prevented me from feeling any pain, and my healing had already kicked in.
Meredith pressed her lips tight. “Do you want anything to speed your healing up? Or for pain, perhaps?”
I shook my head and turned away from her. “So?” I took a step closer to Thea and Almae. “How is she?”
Thea placed a washcloth on Raika’s forehead. “She’s fine … for now.”
“For now?” What the hell did that mean?
“Tell us what happened.” Almae pulled a thin white blanket up to Raika’s chest.
This time, I inhaled deeply, pushed through the haziness in my mind, and told them what had happened. I had taken her to the lake, proposed to her, she said yes, we kissed, and she erupted into fire.
Lavinia pressed her hand over her mouth. “You’re engaged,” she whispered.
At the same time, Thea nodded. “As I thought. It’s the dragon’s magic. It’s acting faster than we predicted. It’s spreading and taking over her darkfire.”
I crossed my arms. “What does that mean?”
A soft moan came from the bed and Raika took a long breath. I stepped to her side and caught her hand in mine. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I leaned closer to her. “Hey, how are you?”
She blinked, taking another breath. “Like I was run over by a truck.” She started sitting up in bed. Meredith and I helped her and put more pillows behind her back. Raika glanced around. “What happen—?” Her eyes went wide. “Fire,” she whispered. I nodded. Horror filled her eyes. “Did I hurt you?”
I almost chuckled. Only her to care about others at a time like this. “No, you didn’t. But you gave me quite the scare.”
She pulled the blanket away, taking in her destroyed clothes. “By the moon …”
Thea and Almae stood on the other side of the bed. “Raika, what did you feel before the fire took over?” Almae asked.
Raika’s skin already had a reddish hue to it, but somehow, the red in her cheeks deepened. “I was with Shane, so …”
Thea nodded. “Magic is linked to emotions. Since the dragon’s magic is still unstable, strong emotion will trigger it.”
“How …?” I shut my mouth, not wanting to say the words, but curious. “How isn’t she dead right now?”
“Because the dragon’s magic is becoming a part of her,” Thea said. “The fire won’t burn her, though it’ll probably burn everything else.”
“These powers will only grow,” Almae said. “We can make an elixir for you that will slow it down, and perhaps it’ll help so you don’t explode every time something happens.”
“I would appreciate that,” Raika said.
“We also should schedule some training,” Thea added. “With training, you might have more control and eventually not need the elixir.”
Raika nodded. “That sounds good too.”
Almae rested a hand on Raika’s legs. “For now, we would like to keep you here. Just until we make the elixir and we’re sure it works.”
