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The crowd gasped and yelps of shock sounded all around me.
What’s wrong? Why is the audience reacting to that?
I made the mistake of looking down and suddenly realized why.
A sea of red and orange swarmed the floor beneath me, teasing my feet as flames tried to reach the rope.
I let out a shriek as I swayed to the right and had to bend my knees to find my balance once again.
I spotted Saeva in the corner, a whip in one hand and a torch in the other.
He never told me he was going to light the pit tonight. I hadn’t even practiced above fire yet—I wasn’t ready for this.
Sweat began to bead on my forehead and the bottoms of my feet burned from the heat of the flame. I could already feel the soles of my feet beginning to blister.
Panic.
I had never been more afraid in my life than this very moment.
I wasn’t afraid because of the height, or the flames, or the thinness of the rope. I was afraid because I realized that I was only halfway across, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it.
“Move it!” Saeva cracked his whip again and the small flinch of my body was enough for my sweaty feet to slide off the rope, and for my body to fall off to the side and down into the flames.
My throat shredded from the screaming. My back hit the pit with such force that my vision went black, and a ringing built up in my ears.
I screamed, “HELP ME! I’M BURNING! SAVE ME!
“I’m right here, Rhia, It’s okay. I’ll save you.”
The unfamiliar voice was immediately drowned out as pain swept back in. The feeling of my skin melting from my muscles and the burning of a thousand surfaces scorched me inside and out. The tears that swam down my face were practically boiling, and it felt like there was no escaping this.
I screamed and screamed and screamed. I screamed so someone could possibly hear me and take me out of the violent flames.
“ANYBODY! PLEASE!”
I was going to die.
“I’m here, I’m here.”
Someone is here to save me?
I gasped as my eyes flung open and I tried to catch my breath from the nightmare. My lungs still felt as if they were burning. That one was more intense than usual, and I wondered if it was because so many memories from my past had been brought up in the past few days.
My heart was still pounding from the dream. Tears stained my face, and my throat was raw from screaming. I sure hoped I didn’t wake up Mendex down the hall. Amica was used to it by now, but I’d still apologize to her in the morning.
I continued to focus on taking in deep and shaky breaths as I got comfortable against the warm chest pressed against my back and the arm that wrapped around my waist as the other stroked my hair.
What the hell?.
I wasn’t at the castle; I was at a dirty old inn sleeping in a bed with Bennett! My heart turned on overdrive as I tried to lurch myself out of his arms.
His grip held me firmly against him. “It’s okay, Rhia, lay back down. You need to calm your heart rate.”
Fear and. . .embarrassment flooded through me at the thought of Bennett being woken up to the sound of me screaming from my stupid and childish nightmare. Heat flooded my cheeks and I had to use every ounce of strength in me to keep my tears from breaking through the dam.
My heart was still beating at an insane rate, but I didn’t move, because maybe if I just froze I wouldn’t have to face the realization of what had just happened.
Bennett continued to stroke my hair gently as he whispered, “I know what you’re thinking.”
