CAMI
There was no warning.
No indication of what was coming.
Just a burst of power that jolted through my system, sending me through the ground with the words“There are no rules”chasing after me.
Everythingburned.
Hot. White. Flames.
Engulfing me from head to toe, reminding me of my nightmares.
The world turned upside down, whirling me around in rapid circles as I traveled through some sort of portal. My ears rang with the whooshing sound, the reverberation reminiscent of a speed train.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes, my stomach rioting at the foreign sensation.
Only for my feet to hit the ground half a beat later.
Gasping in the dry air, I ran my palm along my throat. All that water Ajax had given me no longer mattered. I could barely breathe, let alone swallow.
Intense heat bled into my body from all directions, threatening to suffocate me.
Focus, Cami,I thought, attempting to calm my stuttering heart.Breathe. And focus.
I tried and failed to swallow, the air resembling that of a stifling desert.
But after several seconds, my lungs finally pulled in enough oxygen to help soothe my thundering heart.
I flexed my fingers, counting to five, and slowly reopened my eyes.
I had to squint, my sight having been accustomed to living in the dark for the last however many days. It took several minutes and a lot of blinking for me to finallysee.
The reason for my blindness hung overhead in the form of two suns, casting flame-like ripples through the air.
I curled my toes against the burn from below, my thin heels providing a poor barrier against the infernal crust of this realm.
The suns warmed my skin, but my feet felt singed, causing my focus to shift down to the source of the intense heat.Lava pools.
They were scattered throughout the charred landscape, making my lips part.
Melek’s spells whispered through my mind, reminding me that I knew how to shield myself with a few murmured words.
But Lucifer’s intense gaze followed, his prolonged interest in me earlier making me wary about using any of the details Melek or Ajax had shared with me.
I was clearly on a watch list of some kind.
Which didn’t bode well for me.
I could handle the worst of the heat for now without using magic. I just had to stay away from the lava pools and I’d be good.
Taking in a deep breath, I forced my lungs to adapt to the dry air. It took a few more minutes, but eventually my body figured out how to acclimate. My muscles still ached, my legs reminding me a bit of stiff boulders, but I wasn’t overly hot.
Actually, I felt quite cool.
Why? Had Ajax’s spell remained with me? Would that be considered cheating? Would I end up in trouble again like I had because of Melek’s necklace?