Page 75 of Fated for Flames

A small crowd had gathered, watching with concern and curiosity.

“Is he dead?”

“What happened?”

I ignored them all, my attention focused on Theo.

New tears rolled down my cheeks. “I tried to save him, but my magic didn’t work. Why didn’t it work?”

Lucien spoke in my ear. “Theo was attacked by powerful dark magic. There was nothing any of us could do to save him.”

The sound of fluttering wings caught my attention. “But Rafe can. Can’t he?”

Lucien swallowed hard and shook his head.

Rafe landed and ran to kneel beside Theo.

With trembling hands, I touched Theo’s pale face, now marred by the blood that tainted my hands while I’d tried to save him.

“No, no, no. I can’t lose him. He can’t be dead. Rafe, do something!”

“There’s nothing I can do. He’s gone,” Rafe said.

I clenched my jaw and glared at him. “You didn’t even try!”

“He’s gone, Evelyn,” he reiterated.

“No,” I screamed.

My rage numbed the pain I was feeling, and I looked at the familiar faces whispering and talking without lifting a finger to help Theo. The majority of them seemed more curious than angered that someone had attacked one of us.

Worse. One of them could be the culprit.

“Get out of here. Leave us alone!” I screamed at the crowd as a blood-curdling rage consumed me with seething fury. My vision blurred red, and my hands vibrated with raw power.

I had to find the ones who’d done this and make them pay.

With a primal scream, I unleashed my magic, feeling it surge through my veins like molten lava. The intensity was suffocating, but I welcomed it eagerly, fueled by the desire for vengeance. I didn’t care if it ripped me apart or drained my life energy until I was nothing but ash.

All that mattered was revenge.

Everything around me became a blur as screams echoed in the distance together with the sound of Lucien’s and Rafe’s voices calling my name.

I ignored everything. Nothing could stop me from burning everything to the ground.

Then, as if a switch was flicked off, everything became black.

47

Evelyn

With a start, I jolted awake on the comfy couch in Lucien and Rafe’s cottage. I was no longer wearing my dress, but an oversize tracksuit that should belong to one of them.

Outside, the moonlight glowed over the trees, casting eerie shadows through the windows.

My eyes landed on Rafe and Lucien whispering in the kitchen. Anger boiled up inside me, and I directed it toward Rafe.

I sat up, causing them to turn and look at me. “How dare you to put me asleep without my consent?”

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