Page 212 of House Ignis

The fire kept funneling, divine and raw, coursing through me like I was no longer just flesh and bone.

My whole body shook with the sheer volume of it, every nerve screaming in protest, but it felt—good.

Too good. Like the core of the world was feeding me endless, ancient energy.

"Flame One, back down!" Aether's voice boomed through the bond, frantic, but the power had become a physical weight, choking me. My throat was raw, my skin alight—I was burning from the inside out.

The circle of flame shuddered, then flickered.

The barrier I'd built disintegrated, pulling back into my body until my palms glowed a translucent, molten red.

The pain hit then—sharp, blinding, and absolute.

My knees buckled.

The muddy ground rushed up to meet me—but strong arms caught me before I hit the dirt.

The scent of cedar, rain, and ash slammed into me, grounding my spiraling consciousness. Ezra.

"She's fucking burning alive!" he roared, his voice breaking in a way I'd never heard before.

His hands framed my face, rough and trembling, forcing my eyes to stay open. Orange and gold blazed in his irises, fierce and unyielding.

"Ezra…" My voice cracked, steam rising from my tear-streaked cheeks.

"Breathe," he commanded, his thumbs frantically brushing soot from my temples. "You're okay. Stay with me, Ava. Look at me."

My lashes fluttered. Over his shoulder,

I saw a blur of black and silver. Asher. He was crawling toward me, the shadows receding like a shamed tide, horror written across every feature of his face.

But before Asher could reach me, two masses of muscle and bone-crushing teeth thundered across the mud.

Havoc and Ruin planted themselves between us, both massive heads lowered, a rumble like a localized earthquake rolling from their throats.

Ezra stepped up behind his hounds, his eyes blazing with a lethal light. "Get the fuck away from her!" he snarled at Asher, each word shaking with a fury that felt personal.

Something inside me cracked at the sound.

I felt it, not just saw it, as if something inside me had caught Ezra's heartbeat, his rage, and a jagged piece of his heartbreak.

It hit my chest like a physical tremor of grief I didn't understand.

Through the rain, I caught a flash of movement—Mavrik hauling Jeremy up from the mud. Jeremy coughed, spitting blood, and then with a guttural roar, he launched himself at Asher, tackling him back into the slick dirt.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Jeremy bellowed, his fingers digging into Asher's throat.

But Asher didn't move. He didn't even lift a hand to defend himself. He just stared at me—straight at me—with those silver eyes. Not black anymore. Not endless night. Just silver. Beautiful. Agonized.

"Ava…" His voice came through the bond, breaking and real.

"Darling, I am so sorry." He poured it into me, a rush of guilt and love so intense it felt like it might finish what the fire started.

My body was giving in.

My skin burned, my blood felt like lead, and my lungs couldn't find the air.

I was drifting, the world turning into a blur of grey rain and jagged edges of sound.