Page 160 of By the Flames of Her Fury

It could take my magic—I didn’t care. I just couldn’t let it take them. An anguished cry wrenched from my throat, echoing into the abyss.

Then a hand seized mine.

Everett’s form appeared beside me in the blinding light. His power flooded me. Steady and quiet and as strong as an anchor, everything he’d built and survived pouring into me without hesitation. I felt him shake with the effort, but still, he stayed.

Another hand closed around my wrist, the one still on the altar. Tessa’s Shifter magic surged into me, as warm and fierce as she was.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” she shouted over the roar of the magic. “You never did!”

“We’ve got you, Vera.” Everett’s voice coated me. It felt like something was missing, something vital, but it didn’t change the way I felt about him. My soul reached for his, bound with an unbreakable chain.

Our combined power swelled in the fire, fighting back the threads that still clutched my deepest memories. It clawed through the moments of love and light, but also through my grief, through the darkest parts I’d been carrying for so long.

The loss hurt in a way I’d never felt before. But I was still here.

And I wasn’t alone.

The fire grew to a crescendo, curling inward to my chest. Light burst from all three of us. It surged down my arm into the hand still affixed to the altar, releasing us with a snap. The symbols carved on the stone ignited. Lines of firelight and my blood traced the intricate patterns, flowing faster and faster, weaving something into existence.

No, not weaving. Forging.

The bloody outline of my palm lifted in the air. Crimson swirled into a sphere, and flames shot up to encase it, pressing and folding and shaping until⁠—

Golden light blinded me. I staggered backward, and Everett caught me before I hit the ground. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think or feel beyond the remnants of the flame still humming beneath my skin.

Everett held me, with Tessa crouched beside us, still gripping my arm. Her eyes were wet. All three of us caught our breaths, hanging on to each other in the silence.

Everett cradled my head into his chest. “Are you alright?"

“I’m okay,” I managed, voice hoarse. I squeezed Tessa’s hand before letting go. “Because of both of you. I wouldn’t have been able to—it was—” I choked on the words, my mind still tender and raw.

“What did it do to you?” he whispered.

“It took my—it took my memories.” My voice broke. “I feel these gaps. Things that should be there, with Mama and Nox, with you, but I—” I pressed a fist into my chest. “I can’t feel them anymore.”

Everett went still. His heart beat beneath my head. “Do you remember you and me?”

“Yes.” I pulled back to meet his gaze. “I could never forget us, Swift. But I—I don’t remember how we met.” Tears filled my eyes as I dove into the past, coming up blank. “I know I love you, but I just—there are so many blank spaces. The memories are just gone.” A sob built in my chest, and I pressed my forehead into his shoulder.

His fingers tangled in my hair. “Then we’ll make new ones, Songbird.”

My chest ached. I struggled to hold on, to keep myself together with all these core pieces gone. Moments I could no longer see but could feel were merely void spaces. Everett held me in his arms, lending me strength until my breaths evened and I could think again.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I knew. I’m sorry I⁠—”

“Shh.” He captured my lips with his, kissing me once more. “You came back. That’s all that matters now.”

When he let me go, I turned to Tessa, feeling a fresh wave of tears rise to the surface. I pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Tessa.”

“That’s what friends are for. Fighting together through creepy ancient rituals.” She patted my back. “Speaking of which…”

All three of us looked at the altar. Where the outline of my hand had been, a gold amulet now rested, identical to the two the Elders wore. Instead of a phoenix or sun, a human heart was crafted into the gold surface, with a bloodred stone at the center.

“It worked,” I breathed out. “The final amulet.” I stepped onto the platform and gingerly lifted it. It vibrated in my grip as I fit the chain around my neck until the amulet rested between my breasts, its pulse now matching my racing heart.

“Now we just have to get the other two back,” Tessa said.

I looked up at Everett. It was done. We got the final amulet, and it hadn’t destroyed any of us. We were one step closer.