Page 68 of Heart of Night and Fire

Darkness was destroyed by embracing the light, even when that seemed impossible.

“Look,” Vikram said, coming to stand next to her and pointing to the sky, his hand gently resting on the small of her back. The sky was the deepest shade of midnight blue, sparkling with a vibrant sheet of stars. Far beyond the city, the rolling green hills of the forest beckoned. Facing this way, it was easier to ignore the threat of the blight marching from the south.

Lovely enough to make one almost forget what came knocking at night.

“It’s my birthday,” Zarya said, staring up at the sky.

“Is it?” Vikram smiled. “Well, happy birthday. I’m sorry, I wish I’d known. I would have planned something a little more special.”

She shook her head. “No. Nothing could be more special than this. This is perfect.”

And she meant it, feeling none of the sadness that usually accompanied another lonely passing year. For the first time ever, she had friends and people she cared about surrounding her. It was the only gift she had ever wanted.

A glittering line of silver streaked across the sky, and Zarya hopped in delight. A shooting star.

“Make a wish,” Vikram said, whispering in her ear, and Zarya closed her eyes. She wished for everything she had right now. For this moment and the soft breeze on her face and the handsome rakshasa standing next to her. She wished for this version of a real life she’d craved every single day. She wished for it all to last forever.

“What did you wish for?” he asked after a moment before she opened her eyes to watch the star continue its journey across the sky.

“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly, his mouth warm and his lips like satin. She melted against him as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me here. For reminding me I’m worth noticing.”

The corners of his mouth turned down. “I’m sorry anyone has ever made you think you weren’t worth that. You are worth all that and so much more.”

Zarya leaned into Vikram again, resting her cheek against his chest, gazing out onto the city below. She sighed as his warmth eased some of the tightness in her sore muscles.

Then she looped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss. His arms circled her waist, pressing her in closer. Their lips met softly at first before the kiss grew more urgent. She let out a soft sigh as he nibbled her lip and then sucked on her tongue.

They pressed closer together as his hands slid lower. She wanted so many things right now. She had wished for this, too.

There was a lot for her to worry about.

A lot of questions Zarya had no answers for.

So many secrets clamoring for her attention.

But right now, none of it seemed to matter.

Being here on top of the world, being kissed, she could spread her arms and finally soar.

A moment later, Zarya collapsed as pain ripped through her chest, her scream shattering the stillness of the night.

TWENTY-FIVE

Agony flared hot and bright as Zarya’s view of Vikram and the night tore away in a smear of color like an artist dragging her fingers through wet paint.

Torturous, twisting, shredding anguish clamped down on her muscles and bones, like her organs were swelling, ready to explode into atomic bursts of crimson tissue. A stab speared through her brain as blinding light and shattering darkness clashed and twisted, blurring her vision. Zarya screamed, wrapping her arms around her body, and crumpled to the ground, feeling nothing as her knees struck against the stone.

Someone called her name from a distance, the pitch drilling into her ears. She shut her eyes tight, trying to block it out. Her muscles seized, fighting off an invisible force that squeezed them. Squeezed her. Like bricks and stones piled one on top of another. Layer after bruising layer, crushing her flesh and blood and bone.

The midnight-blue sky and rolling green hills faded from memory, replaced by scarlet and black and grey, shifting, coalescing, and pulsating in foggy, dense clouds. It was a wash of nothingness. Her lungs constricted from a lack of oxygen. She tried to breathe deeper, but it was like trying to inhale against a wall.