Scaling Mountains of Fire

Chapter 16

A different kind of agony awoke her. Fire. Pure, blazing, fire. All around. Completely encompassing. A cocoon of liquid fire wrapped around Dev. Her skin-... did she even have skin? She couldn't feel any of her limbs. Her mind seemed to be completely detached from her body, floating away in whatever could be liquid fire. Did that even make any sense?

But it did. The liquid hurt her, certainly, but it also healed and invigorated her inexplicably. Destroying and renewing. Giving and taking. It started with her toes, then her stomach, then her fingertips and so on, it remade her. Once it was done, a shattering amount of energy filled her core. Her veins vibrated in power. Then, she couldn't breathe.

Her lungs ached, begging for air. The utter need to survive pushed her upward. There was no explaining how she knew the direction. A beam of light and hope pulled her to the surface. Something, someone, waiting for her at the edge. Someone she knew should not be this close to a volcano.

Her hand breached the surface and clutched the rock. Fuck the air hurt. Everything did. But the buzzing in her blood refused to let up, pushing her another inch further. And then another. Until she was sprawled on her stomach, rock cutting through her sensitive burnt skin.

"Dev?" a voice huffed tentatively.

Her head managed to raise, eyes clashing with him. Ambassador Amory. Felix. Her mate. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. The neckbrace preventing her speech still clutched her throat.

She gritted her teeth and pounded the ground in frustration. Cracks splintered through the ground. A rumble of earth soon followed. She stopped, fist in the air.

"It worked... it worked." he muttered, shuffling closer but hissed at the boiling air around them.

"Are you okay? Can you walk?" he asked.

She would do much more than walk. Her wings twitched behind her once more. Not even bothering to get up, she shot to the sky. A trail of lava followed her flight, creating light in the black smoke. Her wings. Her eyes closed. They were back. She was whole once more.

The King's madness filled eyes broke through her glee. Like two voids sucking away anything good in the world. He had ripped her wings after she had only tried to protect her own. What kind of ruler would rather have his entire land destroyed to protect one secret. If they had all died, there wouldn't be a secret to protect.

Oh, there was no stopping the rage that flowed through her. It stroked her flames even higher. It was enough. His reign of madness and tyranny needed to end. Freshly reborn from the flames of her home, she was the only one that could face him.

She didn't let the thought fully form in case he was peering through her mind. Instead, she swooped down to her mate. He gave her a relieved smile. His entire being was covered in sweat and blisters, ill equipped for hiking up a volcano. He had done that. A tiny human. Scaled an active volcano, her in tow, and somehow had found the strength to do the unthinkable. If her entire being hadn't been filled with rage, a completely different emotion would have brought her to her knees.

Later. She would face this later. First, she had something to do. She swept her hero in her arms and took flight. Felix scrambled around her neck at the sudden movement.

First she had to take her mate home. First she had to make sure he was safe. Then, finally, she would take down the King.

Dev deposited the Ambassador at the ruined southern gate. The moment his feet touched the ground, he whirled to her. His hands hovered over her cheeks. Emotion tightened his exhausted features.

"I can't believe it." he croaked.

His skin had suffered massive amounts of damage. And yet, his eyes only searched for hers. She felt the tickle of lightning from his healing energy. He hovered his hands all over her, assessing. Even though she had a new found mission, she stood still.

"Your brother said... but I didn't..." he muttered.

She raised a hand to his blistered cheek, her thumb hovering over his chapped lips. His eyes met hers in surprise. Her skin never touched his. She had very little control over her fire. She felt like an overfilled battery ready to spark at any given moment and she refused to hurt him that way ever again.

Once more, she cursed her inability to speak. But somehow, she didn't have to. Something passed through them. Pure emotion swimming in the air around them. Similar to how she would send love directly to Krystal's mind in times of hardship, without using her words. Similar, but different.

His eyes softened. "You look majestic with your wings."

His words almost made her blush. She hadn't taken the time to recall her armor. The snow kissed her naked skin, freshly remade. She would be bashful but his eyes didn't stray. They remained firmly affixed to her eyes, pouring through her, whispering words he had trouble saying.

A terrible shot of pain radiated through her mind. She flinched, taking a step back. Sharp talons scraped against her mind but her flames burned through them. They recoiled with a hiss. The King. She fought against his presence, refusing to let him steal this moment from her. This was her mate and it was possibly the last moment she would be able to steal from him. The King would not taint it. She refused.

Summoning the roaring energy coursing through her veins since she had awoken, she pushed back against the intrusion.

Walls of pure fire raised to protect her mind from the invasion, refusing to give him an inch. Deep within the mountains, a terrible roar echoed. For once, the earth beneath them didn't follow. For once, the forest refused to comply, encompassing the mates in a protective bubble. She took a step back.

Understanding flitted through the Ambassador's eyes.

"That was him, wasn't it."

She cocked her head, how had he known?

He gave her a small smile and mirrored her step back. "Your brother explained it to me, the whole mental connection thing, the King and his..." he didn't finish that thought.

Cold wind blew between them, taking their warm moment with it.

His eyes finally took note of the damage surrounding them. There were no more human corpses littering the ground. A massive part of the forest had been burnt. The stone walls of the towers turned to rumble. A foreboding feeling still remained.

He stepped forward, taking all of that in. Knowing he was now secure and would be capable of finding his way home, Dev turned, readying her wings for flight. Before she could, the Ambassador spoke to her still facing the destruction.

"I will investigate this, I swear. I'll go back and ensure they know the error of their ways." she had never heard his tone so grave. "This... this was never supposed to happen. I swear to you Dev."

He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. His gaze trailed from her charred toes, to the flecks of scales decorating her thighs, to her fabulous wings bathing in the sun. His eyes finally met hers.

"I swear to you on my life, Dev. I will not rest until those who did this will be held accountable. I will not stand for monstrous acts such as these. I had nothing to do with their attack but I will have everything to do with its retribution."

A singular raven soared overhead. Fire burned in her mind. She blinked through the flames to focus on the moment. It was difficult. Her entire being thrummed with the need to fight, to get revenge for the loss of her wings, to reach the stronghold and tear the King's heart to pieces.

Somehow, some way, the Ambassador noted the fire in her eyes. " Thank you for your help, for your protection, for your companionship. I will treasure these moments and give them back to you by bringing justice to what happened. None of this should have happened. Looks like you have your own fight to have. We both do." Then he smiled. A smile that shone brighter than the sun warming her scales. Her soul sang at the sight. He was utterly beautiful. "After our victories, I hope our paths will cross again."

She nodded with a clenched jaw, emotion threatening to overtake her. He knew, somehow, what she was going to do. He always seemed to be able to read her like an open book, leafing through the burnt pages with a deep understanding like no other. She would see him again. She knew. Her soul knew. They would get their time. But many battles had to be won before then.

Following her train of thought, his eyes glimmered and he grinned. "Fucking get 'em."