Page 161 of By the Flames of Her Fury

Then Everett's face fell. He grunted in pain, stumbling forward with a hand clutched to his shoulder.

“Everett?” I grabbed his other elbow to keep him steady, then clawed at his shirt to see the wound. I sucked in a breath. The scratch at his shoulder blade had widened, the edges of the skin peeling back, swathed in shadows. Inky tendrils floated from where blood and bone should be.

The shadow wraith.

I exchanged a look with Tessa, whose eyes filled with alarm. But before we could react, footsteps came from the tunnel ahead. I instantly shoved Everett behind me, summoning my lightning sword in one hand. Tessa twirled her twin daggers. She threw back an arm to launch a blade when a voice called out.

“No! Don’t attack, it’s me!”

My eyes widened in disbelief. A figure lurched from the shadows, face battered and bloody.

Starke fell to his knees.

“Starke?” I shouted, banishing my sword and crouching before him. His bruised eyes fluttered shut as I gripped his head. “What did they do to you?”

His blue eyes wrinkled in pain. “Vera, I—” His words ended in a grunt as he sagged forward.

“Hey—hey, I’ve got you. It’s okay,” I said as his weight crashed into me. His arms locked around me, body trembling. I tightened my hold. “You’re okay. I’ve got you,” I repeated.

His breath hitched against my neck. “Vera…” He dragged his hands from my back and down my arms, trying to pull away.

Then fingers clamped around my wrist, cold metal sliding into place. “I’m sorry, V.”

Click.

78

Vera

For a heartbeat, I didn’t understand.

And then my magic disappeared. My phoenix half was snuffed out, completely suffocated. I gasped against the shock, against the familiar sensation that flooded me—I was back in those cells, with the black cuffs that stripped me of my power, that chained me to a wall⁠—

A strangled gasp tore from my throat. “Starke—no⁠—”

The second cuff snapped into place on my other wrist. My chest heaved as I dragged in a breath. Disbelief tore through me. There had to be another explanation. This couldn’t be happening.

Slowly, Starke stood, no longer trembling. “I’m sorry, Vera,” he repeated.

Behind me, Tessa and Everett roared in outrage. But before they could attack, another voice hissed from the shadows.

“Phyxie.” The spell for suffocation rattled through the air, familiar Alchemy magic tightening across my chest before the spell snapped into place.

But it wasn’t meant for me. Tessa and Everett both gasped for air, choking as the breath was swiped from their lungs. Everett fell first, his injured shoulder sagging.

“No!” I lunged toward them, crawling with my wrists manacled together.

“Look at you, little bird,” a voice hummed. “Those wings have finally been clipped.”

Everything inside me froze. Everett’s bloodshot eyes filled with horror as he stared at something behind me. I turned, eyes trailing from black boots and up pale skin, into the near-white eyes of Malek Mortep.

“You should be dead,” I breathed out.

A cruel smile spread across his lips. “I was reborn.” He muttered another spell, flicked his wrist, and Tessa and Everett went flying backward. They crashed into the stone wall and fell silent.

“I will kill you!” I snarled, yanking myself to my feet.

“Ah, there’s that fire.” He tsked warningly when I stepped closer. “I won’t harm them again if you do as I say.”