Page 98 of Dark Embers

A switch inside me suddenly flipped, protective rage stamping out my fear and doubt. No way in hell was I going to let anyone hurt my friend!

I hurled myself at the vampire woman, wrenching those stony arms away from Ashlyn with a strength I didn’t even know I had. The vampire was so surprised by my ability to bend her arms like they were noodles that she retracted her fangs from Ashlyn’s neck and gasped.

“Leave my friend alone.” The command that left my mouth was not my normal voice. The sound was deep and resonating, almost song-like, just like that moment in the simulation.

And just like before, the vampire froze, a sort of fog glazing over her eyes. Ashlyn didn’t miss her opportunity, wriggling out of the vampire’s clutches.

“Well, now, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Hadrian said, standing in the same spot as before, watching all this with amusement like a spectator at a sporting event. “I never dreamed you’d be a siren, too. You are proving to be well worth the wait.”

“A siren?” Ashlyn and I parroted.

Dragon-Tobias roared in pain, and the vampire that had slashed at his abdomen zoomed at me and swooped his arm around my waist. White hot fear shot through me, and all the strength I’d had a second ago vanished. My captor leapt to the wall, quickly climbing upward like a spider monkey from hell.

“Ashlyn!” I yelled, stretching my hand toward her. Ashlyn jumped, but our fingertips barely grazed.

I was being taken too far, too fast.

No matter how hard I slammed my fist against the vampire’s back or struggled against his hold, I couldn’t escape. And even if I could get out, I’d plummet dozens of feet to the alley floor. I was trapped.

It was over.

They had me.

Chapter 35

Ashlyn

Ever since I learned I was a phoenix, my first instinct was to try and bury the power I felt. But now, as I watched the vampire take Arya, I knew I needed to do the exact opposite.

I focused on my fury and the fear of losing Arya, embracing the simmering heat within. Blazing balls the size of marbles flared at my fingertips, shooting like a machine gun. It shocked me so much that I almost lost control of the direction they were going. So I put all my focus into aiming them before I knocked out a window or something.

Targeting the vampire engaged in a fight with Niko, the balls entered the vampire’s body. He fell to the floor, frantically rolling on the ground as the pain burned him from the inside out. Niko’s eyes grew as he stared at the damage I had just done.

Three more vampires appeared, blocking my path to Arya. But I was on a vicious rampage—one I wasn't about to quench. I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, drawing confused looks from the vampires. Combining my hands, I willed my fire power to my fingers, focusing on creating a rope of thin lava.

It happened quickly. I swung my hand over my head and used the lava strand like a whip. I lassoed it around the ankle of the farthest vampire. The others tried to jump out of the way, but it was too late. With one slick wave of my hand, I caused the lava rope to flare into a wall of fire, torching all three vampires to a crisp.

But there wasn’t time to relish my small victory.

I caught sight of Arya being dragged over the edge of the roof. A deep and powerful grief consumed my entire body. An ice-cold chill started from my head and seeped down to my feet. I felt my heart beat slower and slower—so slow that I thought it would fail me.

Was it the pain of losing Arya, or did I just give up on the idea of getting her back? Every cell in my body seemed intent on shutting down, and I fell to the ground. My heart thrummed its last beat, nothing but searing and burning pain lingering in my chest. I thought I’d be stuck in the blackness of my own comatose mind forever.

But before the darkness consumed me, a spark like a supernova exploded in my brain.

What had felt like hours was only seconds, the fight still raging around me, Arya’s foot just disappearing.

I rose to what seemed like a dream, dark ash appearing at my feet. My vision was enhanced, focused and tunnel-like. Every fiber of me flickered like the wick of a candle, succumbing to the heat that enveloped my soul.

And as I tried to stand, I couldn't move my feet because my feet were no longer there.

I looked down and stared in awe as I tried to balance on rose-colored talons, which radiated a pearly sheen.

I flailed my arms but quickly realized they were gone as well. In their place were large red and orange wings that draped behind me like a veil. I sucked in a breath as I got lost in my golden-yellow feathers, which sparkled in the shimmering firelight that consumed them.

Holy shit, it finally happened! I finally shifted!

Fiery bliss like nothing I’d ever known radiated from me as brightly as the flames that I’d become.

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