Page 5 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
2
MAYA
From the momentI was pulled into consciousness, I knew something was missing.
Pain.
Pain was missing, and a euphoric sense of relief slammed into me all at once. The physical agony I had been suffering dissolved into a distant memory, any heartache lost in the sounds of wind rustling the grass around me. Even more relieving—my memories, ghosts of everything that had happened, seemingly slipped away. They were within reach, but not pulling at me angrily, not demanding my attention.
Around me was the scent of damp earth, and I could feel soft strands of grass brushing over my legs and hands as I laid stretched out on the ground. It almost seemed to cradle me, and I let out a quiet sigh, shifting only slightly to get more comfortable. The sound of the wind brushing over my ears and the taste of the sweet air against my lips, almost seemed unnatural—surely this odd utopia of sensations was crafted by magic, because never in my life had I experienced something like this.
Then again, that wasn’t saying a lot considering I hadn’t exactly experienced a lot—at least not compared to most people.
There was something I was missing, though, something about this place, and it forced me to open my eyes and to look up into the painted sky above me.
Immediately I felt confusion hit me. This wasn’t where I’d been when I closed my eyes…
A weird chill ran over me as the truth began to seep in, drop by drop.
This wasn’t where I’d been when Idied. That’s what I meant.
When the agony from that fire, the one inflicted on me by the ‘dragon god,’ became too much and everything had burned and burned until I’d been incinerated… At least that was what it had felt like.
I’d died. Or I was dead. One of those.
Was this where we went after? Was I in some heaven-like place? I thought I wasn’t able to die because I was a phoenix? Then again, it was clear that the fire I’d been hit with was something far different than I’d come across before, something god-like in strength..
One positive, I suppose, was that Tina, my fake mother, had been wrong—I hadn’t ended up in Hell. At least this didn’t seem like Hell.
Seriously though—where the heck was I?When I’d died at the hands of Tina and Jed, I couldn’t remember the experience, but this time it appeared I’d ended up somewhere. Was that because I’d truly died? Or did this have to do with my magic being released since I was bonded to my mates now? Last time I hadn’t been bonded to any of them.
Struggling to sit up, I looked around and confirmed that I was very much somewhere I’d never been before. I didn’t think I was dead, though. No, I could still feel the bonds with my mates strumming with intensity, and there was something new there as well… But before I could focus on it, I found a very familiar gaze.
Anani.
That was when the pain hit me. I nearly let out a gasp, a choked sound leaving my throat.I thought he’d died.I’d been positive he had.
I stumbled to standing and walked forward, trekking up the valley to the gold shimmering wall that Anani was standing on the other side of. His icy vibrant eyes ate up every inch of me, and I hated that despite growing close to him, I couldn’t feel his dragon like normal or smell his electric scent—instead I stood there facing him, taking stock of every inch of him.
His shirt was torn—in fact, his clothes looked in nearly as rough of shape as my own. Anani’s skin was no longer covered in blood or ash, though—there were no injuries on him. His tattoos stood out to me, and I craved to see my mark on his chest. I craved to press my head there and feel the rumble of his dragon. His eyebrow piercing glinted under the bright sun as I noticed his hair looked messy but clean, like he had showered but put back on the same clothes… I think I was in a very similar state, although I’d yet to take full stock of myself.
“Anani.” I breathed out, his eyes darting down to my lips.
When he spoke my name in return, my eyes tracking the movement, I realized with great disappointment that we couldn’t hear one another—but before I could try again, a shifting in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Relief flooded my system as I found Azrael standing from the ground, a smile slipping onto my face.
Unfortunately though, he didn’t seem nearly as happy to see me. His face was one of shock—but despite him beingMr. I Put Kittens In Danger, I was thrilled he had survived.At least I hoped that was what this was.It meant that my efforts hadn’t been in vain.
I swallowed, my eyes running over him and taking in how much he had changed in such a short amount of time.
First of all, I hadn’t realized how large he was—it was almost like the shackles that dampened his power had also shrunk him physically—considering how large I’d thought he was before, that was sort of crazy. But that was no longer the case, and his tanned, almond skin stood in contrast to his pale hair and silver coin-like eyes. His clothes were seared and ripped, but out of his back sprung massive wings, black and silver feathers glinting in the sun and truly making him look like an avenging angel.
I couldn’t smell his natural scent or get any feel for his magic, and I wasn’t even positive what he was thinking because the way he was staring at me was like he’d never seen me before—which was obviously not the case. I swallowed nervously, looking back to Anani, not knowing how to handle the onslaught of emotions I felt towards Azrael being alive.
My hand went up to touch the barrier, but Anani emphatically shook his head and mouthed the words “Don’t touch it.”
But I wanted to touch it, and more importantly, I wanted to touchhim. To take sanctuary in his arms.
My eyes grew watery as I let out a shaky breath, saying “I love you” out loud even though he couldn’t hear me. I did love Anani—I loved all my men. All my men. Mymates. I felt breathless at the reality of how much danger I had left them in.
