Page 26 of Fire Kissed
A clanking clatter skids across the soot-stained floor. I release him the moment the old wrought iron key is spotted near the wall. It’s rusted and overused in appearance.
The cold metal fills my hand, and the sheer weight of the large object is a reassuring sensation. The scrape of metal against metal grinds as I twist my wrist.
And then the door opens with a cry of hinges that numbs my senses. Latham looks at me through the open door. No bars separate me from his kind eyes. The breath in my lungs stutters.
On his hands and knees, he crawls to me in a scattering rush, slamming his chest to mine in a way that holds all my broken pieces perfectly in place again. The hammering of his heart is strong, despite how battered he looks. It pounds into my chest, making my heart mimic his as his lips skim across my ear.
“It’s dangerous how much I want you, Rhys,” he whispers like sin dipped in honey.
He lashes lower as he pulls back from me just slightly, and before I can catch my breath from his words, his mouth covers mine. He kisses me slowly, tasting me like a savory memory he’s thought about time after time. Only to have the sweet memory come to life against his lips once again.
It’s a sky-falling, earth-clattering kiss.
Unless...
“I told you not to fucking open the door!” Torben grabs my arm, and as the floor cracks open beneath my feet, he shoves me hard against Aric’s chest. “Get her out of here.”
And then sharp claws and scaley flesh shift around me. A growl erupts from the beast of a man as he runs down the hall, avoiding the breaking beams and clattering brick that falls around us. Wings break free from Aric’s back, and his wild eyes burn with a fire as he urges me and Latham down the chaotic hall and stairs.
The screams and shrieks of the other prisoners can be heard as we come closer to the end of the next cellblock. We’re almost there. We’re almost halfway through the maze of this chaotic building.
Fingers grip around my ankle, and I fall hard. Broken brick bites into my palm as I tumble down.
“Rhys. Please! Please, I know you’re not like them!”
My gaze meets Kyvain’s manic gaze. Fear shines in his eyes where cruel arrogance once beamed bright.
Even the dead are afraid of death, it seems.
And honestly, he’s right: as much as my heart hardens itself in this world, I’ll never be like them.
No matter how hard Hela tries to break me.
Aric grips my arm once more, and before I stumble off, I toss the thing that got me into this mess. The heavy key clanks against his cell wall, and a surprised look of awe in Kyvain’s big blue eyes is the last thing I see.
Before the roof caves in on us all.
A Quiet Night
Rhys
Fire burnswild within the city below. Reckless violence roars through the wind from the destruction we just left. I think I caused that. I wasn’t meant to use that key. And I don’t care about the consequences one fucking bit.
Because I have them now.
Finally.
My arms wrap tightly around Aric’s dragon’s neck, and I lean my full weight into him as he carries the three of us away to a destination I don’t even care to know.
I let my lashes close as I take in the feel of his rough scales and the whipping of the wind. It’s a quiet sound really. The recklessness of the air slashing around me is like pure silence after everything tonight.
It feels like I’ve been in this maze of a realm for a dreaded lifetime instead of just one night. Latham’s head leans against my neck, and the warm feel of his breath against my skin calms me even more. His hold on my waist wraps fully around, hugging me against his chest like he’ll never let me go.
My eyes open to the cool wind, and I can’t look away. Torben, he sits casually atop the dragon’s head, his hand holding loosely onto the horn just to his left. His long hair blows loosely. Every inch of him is dirty and bruised. Still, he doesn’t look tired as he holds his head high like he can see our future written across the dark skyline. He’s every bit the god he once was before Hell sunk its claws into him.
My heart flutters stupidly as I continue to gaze at him. It skips and trots along inside my chest like all of this will somehow have a happy ending.
His head tilts then, and he slowly looks back at me. His brooding eyes soften as he holds my gaze, and once more my heart falls all over itself.
