Page 3 of A Rising Hope

“Finnleah!” I shouted again, air wheezing out of my lungs, choking me. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” My lungs collapsed, and my head hit the ground. Knuckles turned white as I fisted my hair. Pure horror, one I had never known before, ripped through me.

She was gone.

Taken.Taken by the fucking Mad Queen.

Taken.

That word cleaved, shattering my heart into a million pieces.

Flames burst from my eyes, and fire swallowed the bedroom. Mercilessly, the incandescent silver infernos devoured everything in their path. Pillows stuffed with feathers exploded. The long-draped sides of our canopy bed incinerated within a blink. The faded wallpaper turned into dust. Ash blinded me. Its bitter taste filled my throat, settling deep into my lungs. Wrath clawed and curled in me, but unruly fear triumphed, churning my intestines raw as fire destroyed the empty room.

But raging infernos weren’t enough to protect me from the brutal reality that carved a hole in my soul.

The Queen took her from me.

I failed.

I fucking failed.

My little wildfire.

“INSANARIA!” I shouted into the void. “INSANARIA!” My voice desperately roared through the loud crackling of fire encompassing the room.

My eyes watered as the acidic smoke burned, but I didn’t shield, letting the flames sear the pain within my soul, lettingmy skin blister and bubble from them. No physical pain would match the agony within.

I wanted to burn. I wanted to obliterate myself.

I wanted to destroy myself, and I would bring Insanaria with me.

She would fucking pay for this.

With a blink, I called upon my fire, the vast, charcoaled ceiling beams crumbled down around me. Previously grand furnishings turned to nothing but piles of ash, swayed by the morning breeze from the wide-open windows and ripped doors.

At last, I stared down at my burned skin, grounding myself with the pain, praying the physical agony would keep my mind from shattering with complete despair.

Only then I noticed a message from the Queen, carved with her magic into my burned forearm as if done with a jaded knife.

A warning and a threat.

You have seven days to surrender, General.

Or she will be the next one to die.

Ruler of all Esnox,

Queen Insanaria

2

FINNLEAH

Athrobbing headache brought me wide awake. I winced as I moved. Pain radiated through my body, each muscle feeling sore and bruised. My mind reached for my murky memories; my thoughts laid heavy, as if swaddled in a thick fog.

I groaned. Bright sunlight cut through as I opened my eyes. Immediately regretting the decision, I shut them closed again. Oily fog still muddied my consciousness, but thought by thought, I fought through the grogginess that poisoned me. I moved my hands up, rubbing my closed eyes, hoping the motion would relieve the sting in them. A little shiver ran down my body at the motion, followed by the utmost feeling of dread.

My exhausted mind couldn’t comprehend the loud alarms and sudden warnings that blazed through me. Screaming something at me, so loudly it almost hurt.

What? Why?I didn’t remember. Couldn’t understand.

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