Page 126 of Damned and Broken Gods
She kicked out, knocking my knee so that I buckled. The next moment, the hilt of her blade slammed into my temple.
Leela!
The blow might have landed on my temple, but it vibrated in my chest. Too loud.
“Be quiet,” she screamed. “Watch and listen.”
Another blow to my chest sent me toppling onto my back. “Oh gods, I loved him,” she cried. “Burned for him, but he never stayed. He never fucking stayed.”
My axe hilts vanished from my hands.
Bands of heat wrapped around my throat, and my eyes snapped open to my fiery face above me.
“We must extinguish. It is the only way.”
She squeezed.
Leela, fight. You have to fight, dammit!
My pulse fought to thrive, beating against the hot bands around my throat. And with each throb came a revelation.
Pain.
Longing.
Sorrow.
She was hurting.
Burning to be loved for who she was. Burning to be seen and accepted for her core self. She’d been rejected too many times. Learned to hide her flame, to dim it to fit in, and now she was enraged. She wanted the pain of containment to be over.
Leela, dammit, fight her off.
No…this wasn’t about fighting…I reached up and cupped her face, my palms slipping through flame to find purchase. She didn’t burn me, but my palms did heat.
Her eyes widened slightly. “What? What are you doing?”
“It’s all right.” I smiled up at her. “You don’t have to choose anymore. You don’t have to hide. You can burn or you can dim.You can do whichever one you like, as long as you’re true to yourself.”
The fire dimmed, and her face,myface, softened with wonder.
“You don’t fear me?” she asked.
“No…” My eyes stung with the threat of tears. “I love you, just the way you are.”
And in that moment, it was true. I did. I loved me—the broken sharp edges, the fire, the softness, and yes, even the doubt. I loved me. All of me.
“Thank you…” She shattered into embers that dissolved as they fell.
You did it! Leela, you did it.
I did. I’d done it.
The echo of a voice filled the room. “The Burning One rests.”
I stood slowly, searching for my axes to find them already back in their holster at my waist.
There was one mirror left. I walked over to stand before it. “Show yourself.”
