Page 63 of Chasing the Flame
“Somewhere safe,” he replies. “For me, at least.”
He steps closer, and I shrink back before I can stop myself. “You always were difficult,” he muses. “But in the end, you came back to me. They always do.”
“I didn’t come back,” I whisper. “You took me.”
“Semantics.”
He gestures to the figures around us. “Do you know what an Ashbraith is, Averie?”
I don’t respond. I can barely breathe.
“A creature older than flame. Born of realms between realms. Capable of unmaking the veils that separate this world from the ones Ideserve.” He leans down, his voice like silk wrapped around poison. “And your blood will open the gate.”
My heart pounds so hard I feel it in my teeth. They were wrong, he doesn’t want me to birth the fucking creature. No, he wants my blood to bring down the veils that will let them in.
“You’reinsane.”
“I’m enlightened,” he murmurs. “And you? You’re a key I never knew I needed—until I felt the power simmer beneath your skin.”
My heart stutters, and my eyes widen. He smiles wider, relishing in my surprise. “Ah. So you have discovered your lineage. The Ignivara blood. Delicious, isn’t it? Oh, the power you can wield.”
The chanting rises again. “Exsurge… Exsurge…”
Something cracks in the air above me. The torches flicker. The cave trembles. And then—something inside me shifts.
It’s not a feeling.
It's a remembering.
A flare of heat bursts through my chest. It spreads like wildfire—along my ribs, my arms, the back of my spine. The ropes strain, and steam begins to rise from them.
Luke doesn’t notice—but I do. I close my eyes.
Feel it.
Feed it.
The next time I inhale, the air tastes like smoke and ash vibrating with true power.
When I open my eyes, my skin is glowing at the seams. I sit up, flames spilling from my hand like liquid gold.
The ropes fall away, charred to ash.
“You want to wake something?” I whisper, standing tall as fire coils around my body. “Fine. I’ll show you what happens when you light a match in a fucking storm.”
The cavern chamber shakes, rock tumbling with every step I take toward him. The flames engulf me, and I let them, falling into their embrace like I’m coming home. I give him a savage smile, and lift my palms in the air, letting the magic within me erupt like a volcano.
And the worldburns.
When we step through the door it’s complete pandemonium. Averie is lit up in golden flames, her hair rippling like waves across the water. Streams of fire arc in every direction, sending flame upon the robed assailants.
“Averie—”
Her name catches in my throat. My heart stutters. She’s not broken, or hurt. She doesn’t need to be rescued.
She’s blazing.
“Mother of magic,” Dad breathes beside me, his voice barely audible. “That’s Ignivara ascension.”
