A Savior of Flames

Chapter 14

I curse under my breath again and stand. I flatten out my shirt, Rowan's shirt, and go to leave my room. He left the door open behind him, but Cael appears in front, blocking me from leaving. I push against him, but he doesn't move. Hot tears prick my eyes, and I push against him even harder. "Cael move, I need to go talk to him." I pound a fist against his unmoving chest, and Lyss's hands gently pry me back. Her hands wrap around my middle, keeping me rooted in place. I grab at her arms with my hands, but she's holding me in an iron grip. Cael's watching me, tears brimming his eyes. Mine have spilled over and are leaving hot tracks down my cheeks.

"Erista, you're in no state to talk to him. He's in no state to talk to you either." Cael moves forward, his hands stretched out in front of him. "Erista, honey calm down." His hands rest on my cheeks, forcing my eyes to meet his. "It'll be okay, but you need to cool down first." His gentle gesture snaps something in me, and I feel the weight of the event settling on me. I choke on a sob.

"What have I done? He hates me now. I've ruined everything." My voice is a desperate whisper, and I stop fighting against Lyss. My body shakes, and my knees wobble. Cael catches me before I have the chance to crumble to the floor, and pulls me into him, Lyss's hands leaving me. I wrap my arms around him, fisting my hands in the back of his shirt. I sob loudly into his chest, not holding anything back anymore. There's no point at stopping myself from breaking anymore. If I've lost Rowan, I have nothing left. Cael's chin rests atop my head, as he soothes down my hair, his other hand rubbing up and down my back. I gasp for air but nothing will come, and I feel my magic bubbling in my stomach, reacting to my mood.

I push myself away from Cael, and stare down at my hands. Sure enough, sparks are jumping over my fingers rapidly. I shake my hands, wishing they would just stop. "Go away, go away, go away." I whisper to myself, and curl my hands into fists. Cael reaches for me, but I dart from his grasp. "Don't touch me, I don't want to hurt you." He drops his hands, nodding. I can see the fear in his eyes but he still reached for me. I keep trying to breathe, but the magic inside me feels like it's bursting and I can't control it. I drop to my knees, pain shooting through them with the impact, letting out a strangled scream. I watch in horror as lightning cracks from my body, hitting points around the room. With no Rowan, I have nothing keeping me from exploding. My eyes connect with Cael's, but black dots fill my vision, and I feel my body tilting to the side. The last thing I see before I hit the floor is Cael and Lyss both reaching for me.

******

Rohanna

I'm woken from my sleep by a blood curdling scream, and it's one I recognize. Celeste sits up next to me, woken from her sleep as well. Her eyes connect with mine, and she shows the same panic. We both jump from bed, and run across the hall. Erista's door is open, and the sight before me stops me dead in my tracks. Caelum and another girl are leaning over Erista's prone form. Erista looks horrible, but the thing that's really stopping me is the black scorch marks dotted on every surface around the room. The smell of it attacking my nose, horrible and burnt. What happened here? My magic swells at my thoughts, protective of my baby sister. In a low voice I hiss, "What did you do to her?" Venom drips from my tone, and the girl leaning over Erista has the sense to look scared. Caelum turns to me, and I can instantly tell he's been crying, and he looks just as worried as I feel.

"Sparks, her hands started sparking. But then she screamed and fell to her knees, and then lightning shot out of her body. She passed out. I don't know what happened. Rohanna, can you help her?" He speaks hurriedly, desperate. Lightning shot from her body? I've seen the sparks on her hands before, but lightning? I turn to Celeste, whispering low to her.

"Go find Rowan, bring him to our room, but keep him away from here. Make sure he's okay." She nods, her face paled. She walks away quickly, leaving me alone with the others. I faintly remember that Erista and Rowan are connected in some way, as he was able to feel her pain when she was being tortured. I walk in, closing the door behind me, and summoning up my healing magic. Cael moves out of my way, and I kneel down next to Erista. I put my hands on her face, and hold back a cry. She's so cold. I feel the magic flow from my hands into her, and her skin warms. The girl is gripping Erista's hand tightly. Part of me wants to ask who she is and why she's touching my baby sister, but I'm too worried about Erista right now. Erista's unconscious form lets out a long breath, and her breathing levels out. My panic subsides.