Page 23 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Breathe or die!

As comforting as the words were, they did nothing. Telling someone to be ‘calm’ had never worked, and Leela was definitely not calm. She panicked and choked, like the night when her life was torn apart.

Leela shut her eyes, trying to block it all out. She ground her teeth together as another terrible scream cut the skies. And another, cut short by a gurgle.

Breathe!

She tried, but the more she did, the more the panic set in and the tighter her throat became.

Pathetic.

Disappointing!

Leela shook off the looming, dreadful thoughts as blood pounded in her ears.

It wasn’t until she choked on a fleck of sand that she realized she was curled up on the ground. The edges of her vision faded into darkness, the chaos blending into a big mess. Thoughts, wild and untamed, seized her. Leela was going to die, and perhaps, it wasn’t the worst thing considering her circumstances.

Mortal… I have you. We have this. Breathe. Don’t breathe. Whatever you do, focus. Focus on my voice. Focus on the warm air around you. Focus… Focus… Focus…

The word reverberated within Leela, enough for her to grasp at reality and get away from the nightmares. Enough to pry her eyes open and realize other things were happening.

The drakion continued to tear away at people’s flesh, but there were others fighting for their lives. There were flashes of blue against the navy skies, and a giant sandship hovered in the distance. Swords shhhwed from their sheaths, cutting into the monsters and turning them into piles of ash. Shadows transformed into the form of animals as Foxes, Tigers, and Bulls ran into the scene and killed any monster in sight.

She fell back to the sand and sighed in relief. People had come to save them. Vessels with Flames as their weapon.

We cannot always be strong, mortal. Sometimes, we need emotions to keep us steady.

How in the Flames was I steady?

You will learn. You are injured.

Leela frowned. No, I’m not?

In mind. You will heal. It will take time. Be gentle to yourself.

Leela shook her head. She couldn’t understand this Flame. One moment she was argumentative, the next, supportive or completely silent. She was like a tornado, made of chaos and lies Leela wished to untangle.

And be rid of.

Leela rubbed at her collarbone to calm her nerves. Blood, however, continued to ooze from Jaya’s slender arm, and a spit of anger flashed through her. Because of her panic, she had risked Jaya’s life. Leela hated herself all the more. She should’ve been stronger. Should’ve been able to push aside the emotions clouding her mind.

“Leela…?”

Slowly, Leela pried her gaze away from her hands.

“Is that you…?”

Leela’s entire body grew as rigid as Nihikia’s sandstone city walls. Darkness crept into the edges of her vision once more. For a moment, she thought she was having another panic attack. At least, it might’ve been better than hearing the voice of someone she believed to be dead.

Every muscle in her screamed to not turn around, but how could she not? That voice had used to sing her to sleep with a sweet childhood lullaby and haunted her nightmares. The owner of that voice used to be her light, the guiding hand she needed in the darkness.

And he was meant to be dead.

Despite her brain screaming at her not to look—knowing it was all a figment of her imagination—she turned and peered into the eyes she’d last seen lying at the base of a dune—dead. A gasp shook her lungs. Leela couldn’t do anything but stare at the man whose face she could memorize in her sleep, from the sharp edges of his jaw, to the way his eyes glistened and burned like the fervent stars above, and the black curls, now longer, lying like languid vines around his face.

Six years.

Six fucking years.