Page 15 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
“So we’re supposed to fly up?” She tilted her head back and I followed her gaze, all three of us going absolutely silent.
“What the fuck is that?”
Anani’s question was more than valid.
“Thatis the way out of here,” I murmured, the sky gathering into a portal right above us. The clouds swirled around a circle of stones, the silvery texture in the center warping like a ripple of water, like an upside-down pond. But with each wave, it looked like there were scenes being played out.
“Is that…”
Then I realized what I was seeing.
Absolute mayhem.
I would’ve recognized Ry’s compound in the French Alps anywhere—it was where I had spent so many goddamn years imprisoned—and it was under attack. Dragons faced off against Ry, who had gone into his full dragon form, wiping out entire acres of forest with a singular breath of fire. For a moment, flashes of my life in battle and the wars I’d participated in crawled across my vision, raising a bloodlust in me that I never expected after all this time.
Maya was standing next to me, nearly paralyzed as her eyes darted back and forth, watching the scene with horror.
“Maya?” I asked in concern.
“My mates.” Maya’s fingers went to her throat in anxiety, her eyes welling with tears. Anani reached out to comfort her, but then everything changed.
An explosion of gold, purple, and blue flames rose around Maya, whipping the air into a fury. I leaned back, searing heat flashing across my face. An avian cry erupted from her throat, and then she was airborne.
Anani immediately shifted, and my wings pushed me into the air, both of us following her flame of pure energy. I couldn’t stop the rush of adrenaline I felt from moving my wings like this, from feeling so completely liberated.
It felt fucking fantastic.
How long had I been earth-bound? Since the shackles had been placed on me? Now I was free, and with that freedom came the realization that I was angry. I was fuckingfuriousat Ry, not only for what I’d been put through, but the pain he had inflicted on so many others. I wanted him to suffer.
Luckily, I think Maya had that exact plan in mind.
When we neared the portal, finally catching up to her, I expected to find Maya in her phoenix form. And she was…sort of.
Maya’s hair was flashing with blue and purple licks of flame, and she had gorgeous feathers coming out of her back, her body covered in a scaled pattern that fit to her like a suit. Her eyes were lit with a dangerous light that was full of determination.
There was no doubt what inspired it.
Maya was going to be reborn for those she loved.
