Shockingly, they did not stop.
No one could say I hadn’t tried.
The mountain became uncomfortably warm as scarlet flames expanded in every direction. They leaped high into the air and formed a wall of fire.
I squinted against the brightness while I inhaled the heat greedily.
The kings were shadowy outlines, untouched in the middle of an inferno. Tools of death waiting to be deployed.
For a split second, I had the horrible sense that I was the one supposed to be doing something, and it didn’t feel like it had to do with stopping them. It felt like they were working an enchantment over me and lulling me into a trance.
What else could be the fire’s purpose?
There were no enemies around, and it was just the four of us up in the thin air of the mountains with snow and rocks all around.
My eyelids fluttered shut.
I was unbelievably tired, and the flames called to me. They melted me in the most intoxicating way.
The fractured, icy bits of my soul thawed.
The Necklace of Death and diamond bracelet warmed and vibrated until my skin buzzed.
It was heavenly.
Bending forward so I could get closer to the raging fire, I enjoyed the delicious warmth as it chased away the invasive chill that was always present in my bones.
I wanted to curl up like a cat and bask in the inferno.
I wanted to lie on a bed of ashes for eternity.
It was pure relief after years of being plagued by chattering teeth and goose bumps.
After a lifetime of ice, I finally knew what genuine warmth felt like.
It was everything.
I wanted more because it was so much better than I could have ever imagined.
My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. The rocks were toasty against my chilled flesh, and I pressed myself into the ground.
Everything became hazy in the best way.
The heat intensified, and I sighed with relief as my lungs thawed.
I closed my heavy lids and drifted off.
Into.
Blissful.
Sleep.
“Wake up!”
Someone bellowed down at me, and I batted at them. “Shut up,” I mumbled as I tried to sink back into the warm darkness.
It was divine.
“She’s fine.” A different person sighed with relief, and I shivered as cold battered my face.
“No, she’s clearly not fucking fine.”
There was a smacking noise and what sounded like a fight.
“I am fine,” I said sleepily as I curled tighter into a ball and mourned the exquisite warmth because, yet again, everything was uncomfortably cold.
“More heat,” I begged.
There was silence.
Then someone broke into laughter. “Hear that, Corvus. She wants more heat. Sun god fucking damn it, I can’t do this.”
“Arabella, wake up right now,” Malum ordered as he yanked me to my feet.
I narrowed my eyes at the angry devil snarling in my face and immediately wished I was sleeping again.
“What?” I asked petulantly.
Scorpius filled my vision, and his jaw was tight with anger. “Why did the three of us just snap out of our powers to find twelve hours had passed and you were sleeping peacefully in the middle of a fucking fire?”
My eyes shot open as memories rushed back. The blizzard had stopped, and the night was cold and still. More stars were visible than in the valley because we were halfway up the mountain.
I stumbled out of Malum’s embrace.
My wings had retracted, and the awful weight was gone. In its wake, energy strummed through me.
I felt better than I had in a long time.
Alert.
Strangely healthy.
I felt limber, and the pervasive cold was gone.
It felt like I’d come out of a monthlong coma with a new lease on life. For the first time in forever, I didn’t feel a crushing emptiness.
I was satisfied.
“Wow,” I said slowly because the once snow-covered rocks were now scorched black as far as the eye could see in every direction, as if a fire had raged for hours.
“Once we unleashed our powers, what did you do?” Malum’s deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
He glowered at me, a dark god in a barren wasteland of scorched earth and anger. Snow whipped angrily back and forth.
Silver eyes narrowed. “Tell me you used one of your wings to stab me or that you tried to counter my fire with ice. Because that’s what we expected you to do.”
All three of the kings were standing uncomfortably close as they waited for me to speak.
I kicked a rock, ducked my head, and mumbled, “I was going to get to that.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and I couldn’t look at them.
I had no idea why I’d fallen asleep instead of trying to stop them.