Page 139 of A Whisper of Cinders

Our bodies are covered in sweat, chests moving up and down simultaneously, his heartbeat strong against my shoulder. And for a second, I close my eyes, let my head fall back, resting against his face and shoulder, enjoying this some sort of embrace and his divine scent of smoke and black pepper.

One of his arms falls down and embraces my waist, fingers caressing the bare skin there. I feel him relax against me and my hands grab the arm that is around my chest. I know I should enjoy this moment and dear moons, believe me, I do. It feels like he needs me as much as I need him, my skin tingling everywhere we touch.

So when I pull hard against his arm and throw him over my shoulder towards the mat, straddling him instantly with one arm at his throat, surprise flickers in his eyes.

Our faces are inches away from each other and our breaths mingle. “I win.”

He watches me for a moment, eyes wide and mouth open a little, but starts laughing instantly, the sound low and feelable through my whole body. His hands land on my hips, holding them in place. “That you have, feather, that you have.”

When I finally leave the dojo it’s already dark, to my biggest surprise. It’s not even that late, maybe four in the afternoon? And even for winter wonderland, that is pretty early. Yes, I did shower in the dojo, watch the others train, eat lunch with a surprisingly sweet Conláed and watched the very advanced group — including Conláed — train which was…hot. And I’m not just talking about the temperature in the room. There is just no other word to describe it.

Conláed still had some work to do, so I leave, debating if I should go to the Greenhouse or relax on my bed for a couple of minutes.

Since I haven’t visited the greenhouse in a long while, I decide to go there first. It might ease the tight ball that grows again in the pit of my stomach. Nature did always bring me peace, although I’m not sure if it will help me this time.

As I am surrounded by trees, I hear the cracking of twigs and branches. Probably an animal scurrying by. An animal that is apparently following me. I don’t know how I know, I just know. A flashback from when I went on a similar walk surfaces, and I didn’t like how that ended.

When a loud crack sounds, I stop and look over my shoulder, but nothing’s there. Only snow and ice, trees swaying in the cold breeze.

I pick up my pace. Something’s not right and if the ominous feeling inside my chest is right, I need to get away from here as soon as possible. The cracking only grows louder the closer I get to the greenhouse. I try to summon my flames as I nearly run to the greenhouse that is now in sight.

Nothing.

Frustration crawls at my throat. How? Why? I could’ve set the whole forest on fire this morning, why aren’t they coming to me now?

Running it is then.

But as soon as I take my first steps, dark vines creep up my legs and pull me down and I fall face first into the snow. I try to tear them off, but only end up cutting my fingers, droplets of blood now fall into the snow. The more I move, the harder the vines constrict around my ankles, my legs, my stomach, until I’m completely covered.

The scent of rotting leaves fills my nose and I know I’m out of time. Six of the daunting, long limbed creatures prowl through the forest until I am surrounded. The Myrvael have returned.

When I’m completely covered in vines, my nose and eyes the only place that remain free, a strong scented flower is pushed in my face and I have no other choice than to inhale.

Consciousness slips between my fingers and a screeching voice fills my ears, mumbling words I do not understand as the world goes dark.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Ahard floor scrapes against my cheek. Voices fill my ears, the sound deafening and chaotic. Fear. The owners of the voices are scared. I feel it. I try to breathe, but there is no clear air to inhale. All that is left is smoke. I cough. What is going on?

“Was that her?”

The other voices go silent, making one stand out, the only voice I do not want to hear right now. Others cough, the sound of heavy feet moving towards me becomes louder. I feel like I’m drunk, everything’s spinning and I can’t get my vision clear.

Someone turns me around so I lay on my back. The thought didn’t even occur to me. “Mai? Are you alright?”

A hand touches my cheek and tucks some of my hair behind my ear. I weakly push the hand away, coughing once more to clear the itch in my throat. “Go…away…” Someone shrieks as the crackling of fire intensifies.

“Dear moons, Ari, leave her alone. Or do you want to turn us into chickens on a spit?”

Ami is here too? I try to think of what happened and what we’re doing here, but my brain has been replaced with cotton buds and trying to connect my thoughts — or think for that matter — hurts immensely.

I believe Ami pushes her brother away, and although I’m not sure if I want to see her either, I prefer her over her twin right now. The smoke that swirls around us makes it hard to see anything, but she holds my hand, her touch cool as usual.

“What’s going on?”

She needs a moment before she can answer, as if she’s out of breath. “The Myrvael attacked us, they came out of nowhere and brought us to this wooden cabin. The doors and windows are locked, we can’t break the glass or splinter the wood and our magic is somehow muted.” She has to stop talking due to a severe coughing fit. “Are you okay, though? You were out quite long, much longer than any of us.”

It’s the second time she speaks about ‘us’, meaning there are others here as well, besides the twins and me. I try to look around, but even my eyes can’t filter out the smoke. “Who else is here? Is someone hurt?”