Page 5 of Only Flames Remain

My mother—was she out there, among the fray? Had she made it back to our apartment safely?

I moved to turn—to unlock the deadbolt and let the innocent people of Myros inside—as a new cry set my teeth on edge. The cries of humans. The cries of fae. Fire scorched the air beyond the docks. The people who had been banging against the door mere moments ago were now jumping into the water, searching for any reprieve from the flames.

“We can’t stay here.” Enora’s voice brooked no argument as my fingernails curled into the wooden floorboards.

I opened my mouth to speak—to argue—but nothing came out. My own voice was caught in the back of my throat.

“If they set this dock aflame, we have no chance of surviving. The apothecary is made of wood, not stone. We need to get back to the palace. Now.”

I knew she was right, knew that we needed to make a run for it. But my feet were planted firmly against the quaking floorboards. My hands were shaking, nails digging into the splintering wood until they were frayed and raw enough they bled. I was terrified.

I had seen magic at work before, but never anything like this.

The Veytari fae practiced common magic as if it were nothing, but the magic of the Vireth from the west was something else entirely.

While there were humans and creatures in all kingdoms, Veytari fae ruled the eastern kingdoms, and Vireth ruled the west. It had been that way as long as the histories knew.

Vireth magic had not visited Myros in my lifetime.

“Aveline.” Her uncompromising voice drew my gaze once more. “I will protect you. But we have to move.”

Her words were almost drowned out by another roar beyond the door; the flames so close the heat was licking against the wood at my back. Enora scrambled toward me on her hands and knees, grasping my arm roughly in hers. She did not wait for me to be ready; she simply pushed me toward the seashell curtain, toward the back door of the shop.

She followed closely behind me, urging me onward as my crippling fear turned into something else.

An urge to survive.

“Go!” Enora cried as I reached the back door, rising to my feet.

I wrenched it open, but the chaos that consumed the world beyond had me skidding to a halt. Enora skidded right into me, almost knocking me over.

“Enora—” I shook my head back and forth, eyes darting left and right.

The city of Majur was on fire.

People and creatures alike were scattering from their homes and shops. Screams and wails pierced the air as time slowed before my eyes. Enora didn’t wait for me to gather myself; she simply pulled me along behind her as we scrambled back toward the dirt path we had taken to the market. We weren’t far from the castle, but so much devastation stood between us and the looming stone palace beyond.

I followed Enora, my arm still tight in her grip. We dodged and weaved through the crowds, pressing toward the gray spires beyond. I kept my sights on them the entire time as Majur devolved into utter chaos around us.

A shadow crawled overhead, and I pumped my legs as hard as I could, too afraid to be swallowed by that darkness. I cursed my skirts as they tangled in my legs, slowing me. The bloodred dragon swooped low; his cry so close I could smell its fetid breath as it swirled through the air above. It was hot against the back of my neck, urging me faster.

The southern part of the marketplace had been set aflame, and market stalls and aged homes alike had been set ablaze. The thatched roofs caught fire quickly, reducing everything to ash in a mere matter of seconds. The townspeople were screaming, the roar of the dragons and the cries of the Myrosian people filling my ears as my vision blurred with tears.

Osric’s cart was gone. Reduced to embers. I could only pray to the old gods that he had made it out, that he had made it to safety.

“Lady Aveline!” I could hear my name, but I couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. I swung my head left and right, but I didn’t see any face I recognized among the fray other than Enora’s.

“This way!” Enora urged, pulling me further and further into the heart of the city streets.

“Lady Aveline! Wait!”

I turned and almost ran headfirst into the guard from earlier. The one who had told us to keep off the streets and warned us about the curfew. Was this happenchance, or had he been searching for us?

I pulled Enora to a halt, and her alabaster hair flew in front of her face, obscuring her wild gaze for only a moment.

“Why—” But her question was cut off when the guard grabbed both of us, urging us back the way we had come.

“Where are we going?” I asked through gritted teeth, doing my best to pull against his hold. But he was Veytari fae; I stood no chance.