Flames of Fury

Ember

I don’t want to leave Mags’ side, we’ve grown impossibly close over these last five months and more than friendship I almost feel protective of her. It started as my job to watch over her, but I’ve come to genuinely adore her and her company. She’s incandescent, and I know I haven’t even seen the best of her yet.

I shake off the feelings of fear and distrust, after all this is her home, her queendom. If we’re not safe here, then we’re truly not safe anywhere.

I marvel at the palace as Queen Ianthe leads me and the other girl, Kat I think, through the halls.

“Magnolia mentioned you’re a doctor, but I know a healer when I see one.” Queen Ianthe says to me but continues walking forward. “I’d like to put you in the room next to hers, I don’t think she’ll mind. It would make me feel better knowing she had a healer nearby given her condition.”

A sad sort of smile creeps across my face because little does Ianthe know that Mags and I were neighbors in the hollow as well. So being next door to her here suits me just fine.

Ianthe directs me to the room next to Mags’, and then carries on down the hallway with Kat. Everything about the palace is so opposite of the hollow. It’s bright, airy, and carries a boundless sense of space. The Hollow was cavernous and spacious in its own right, but that space was punctuated with the knowledge that the walls that blocked us in were inevitable. No matter how open the cavern was, it was suffocating in equal measure.

I can feel Mags’ power in every detail of this place. The colors are indescribable, they’re both blue and purple, but also only blue or only purple – a Schrodinger’s hue. I take my time exploring the suite which is equipped with a full ensuite bathroom, private balcony, and a walk-in closet filled with clothes that appear to be about my size.

I’m about to walk out onto the porch when the temperature of the room rises by at least ten degrees in a matter of seconds. I open the door to see if there’s a source and sure enough Mags is walking down the hallway towards me.

Relief trickles into her eyes when she sees me, but then she begins to crack.

No, not crack.

She breaks.

She falls to her knees in the doorway, a torrent of tears cascading down her face. I’m by her side on the floor in an instant, my arms wrapped around her so she can rest her head on my shoulder.

“Everything is so fucked up, Ember. I can’t do this anymore.” She sobs, clutching her hand to her heart in an attempt to keep it from literally breaking apart.

“Mags, what happened?” I ask her calmly.

“They betrayed me, they violated me. My own brother had my guardian go into my mind and erase a memory for his own selfish benefit.”

She battles another uncontrollable sob. “And now they’ve done it to my mates! He erased me from their memories! I’m no one to them…I-I’m no one.”

She releases a primal, agonizing wail. “Ember, please,” she begs me through her cries, “it f-feels like my heart is b-breaking, it hurts so much. Please, m-make it stop.”

I hold her tighter to me, I let her soak my shirt with her tears and her anguish because not even my powers can heal the emotional hurt she’s suffering – I can’t heal a broken heart. I do my best to help her body relax and help her breathing even out. With the stress she’s endured in the last 12 hours alone she could very well throw herself into an early labor.

“Let’s get you into your room, Mags, it’ll be more comfortable there.” I have to practically lift her up off the floor myself, she has no will to move, her body has given up and given in to the heartache.

It’s a miracle we make it to her bed. She immediately curls up on her side and continues to sob violently into her pillow.

As much as I want to stay here and comfort her any way that I can, I need to pay those assholes downstairs a visit.

I fly myself back down to her office and let myself in without bothering to knock. No one notices my arrival. Varian has Xander against a wall and Incandis looks horrified.

“What the fuck have you done?” I demand. I take my time, looking each one in the eye because as far as I’m concerned each one is culpable for hurting Mags.

I walk into the middle of the room so that I have a good view of all four men and so that they can all hear every word I’m about to say.

“For five months I watched her,” I’m trying my best to remain calm as I begin my story. “Illian tortured her everyday. He assaulted her, everyday. For five. Months.” Try as I might the anger quickly takes over, I have to grit my teeth to keep from shouting.

“And she took it. The pain he inflicted, the psychological games he played with her… I’ve seen Illian break stronger men than you.”

I know Illian’s cruel games better than most. He takes pleasure in the pain of others, the more he can strip you of your power the more appealing the game. Then when you have nothing left to give and you’re all used up he tosses you to the side to put the pieces of your former self back together.

It’s been decades for me and I’m still picking up pieces.

“She survived five months in the depths of hell and rose like a phoenix from the ashes, like the eternal flame she is. Like a goddamn queen.”

“Then she comes home — home. A place we dreamed about, the last unbreakable strand of hope we held on to.” My chin tucks into my chest, my eyes squeezed shut because I can’t believe the magnitude to which they’ve hurt her. “And in one day, one fucking day, you managed to do what Illian couldn’t do in five months.”

They’re no better than Illian. They invaded her mind just like he did, but they caused far more damage.

“You broke her.” Tears slip from my eyes. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to go back home after everything with Illian only to find out your family fucked with your mind just like he did.

I leave them to think about what I’ve said and what they’ve done to Mags. If they love her like they claim they do then they should be running to her for her forgiveness.

I tuck myself away in an alcove to see if any of them leave to go find her. Sure enough Ro and Varian bolt out of the door and head directly for her wing of the palace.

Xander and Incandis are still inside the room, I wonder what they’ll say when they think they’re alone.

“You didn’t have to lie to them for me, Xander.” Incandis says.

“I’m already on their shit list, D. You don’t need to be there next to me.”

There’s a brief moment of silence before Incandis speaks again. “Mags won’t let them hurt you, you know that right?”

Xander scoffs out a laugh, “no, she might do the honors herself. No matter our intentions, D, she’ll only see it as a betrayal. It’s ironic isn’t it? She’s finally home and now I’ve truly lost her.”

“Xan, if what Ember said is true then she’s been through some serious shit. Plus she’s…pregnant…probably hormonal. Give her time, she’ll come around. Besides, she lied to us when she snuck off. She’s not exactly innocent either.”

Xander exhales a heavy sigh. “Yeah. You’re right. One thing at a time. Go get Kat, let’s get you your mate back.”

I almost leave my spot in the alcove, I almost go into the room to talk to Xander, but Incandis teleports back in a matter of seconds.

“Hey Kat, how are you holding up?” Xander asks her gently.

“Fine, confused. Why did my mom want me to come here?”

“Go ahead and have a seat,” Xander says followed by the sound of the couch cushions compressing under their weight. “Let’s talk.”

I wait and wait but Xander doesn’t say another word, he doesn’t breathe a sound and neither do Kat or Incandis. He just said let’s talk so why is no one talking?

It’s only a couple of minutes before there’s a shuffling amid the room and a smack of skin slapping skin.

“Kat it’s not his fault, I couldn’t risk your brothers seeing you with Incandis. It would have unraveled everything.”

“Why didn’t you stop him? You knew he was going to invade my mind, why would you let him do that to me Incandis?”

She doesn’t give him a chance to respond. As soon as the words leave her lips she runs out of the room and presumably back up to the room Ianthe put her in.

At first Incandis runs out after her, but when he realizes he won’t catch up to her he teleports out of the hallway.

Which leaves me here in the hallway and Xander alone in Mags’ office. I’m certain Ro and Varian are talking to her now, or at least trying to get her to talk to them.

Rather than go back to my room to stare at the walls, I decide to go talk to the infamous Xander.