Controlled Burn

Chapter 4: The Burning Truth

Lucian stood at the edge of the underpass, his figure stark against the dim light, a cold presence cutting through the thick, oppressive heat. Even from where he stood, he could feel the radiating energy of a fire demon on the brink of combustion. The flames licking at Cade's skin were dangerous, volatile, and barely controlled. He was teetering on the edge.

The air between them was tense, thick with the stench of burning debris, gasoline, and something more primal—the unmistakable scent of fire demon flames about to lose all restraint. Cade stood a few yards ahead, hunched over, his body trembling under the weight of his own fire, the flames flickering unpredictably, feeding off the chaos roiling inside him.

Lucian's eyes, cold and calculating, swept over the scene with practiced precision. He'd handled cases like this before—fire demons on the verge of losing themselves—but something about Cade was different. The desperation, the barely-contained ferocity in the fire licking at his skin, the way it flared erratically and then pulled back, like a tide barely held at bay, told Lucian that Cade wasn't just about to combust. He was about to break.

Lucian stepped forward, his boots crunching softly on the gravel beneath him, the sound swallowed by the crackling of flames and the distant hum of the city above. As he moved, the cold around him deepened, spreading like a mist in the night air. It wasn't just physical cold—it was an aura, something that pushed back against the oppressive heat Cade's body radiated. Fire and ice, two forces on a collision course.

"Cade," Lucian said, his voice calm, cold, cutting through the crackling heat like a shard of ice.

At the sound of his name, Cade's head snapped up, his eyes wild, glowing like embers, burning with anger, desperation, and something far more dangerous: pain. His breathing was ragged, uneven, and every gasp sent flickers of flame dancing across his skin, uncontrolled. Cade's body was rigid, his muscles straining as if he were holding himself together by sheer will alone, but Lucian could see the cracks forming, the fissures deepening.

Cade was close. Too close.

"Stay back!" Cade growled, though his voice wavered with the effort of keeping the flames in check. His whole body shook, flames surging outward in a wild burst, then pulling back in, as if he was trying to corral them but couldn't. The raw intensity of the heat made the air shimmer between them, like reality itself was warping under the pressure.

Lucian didn't flinch. He stood his ground, ice-blue eyes unblinking, reading every move, every flicker of flame. He had seen this before. The tipping point. One wrong move and Cade's flames would consume him—and everything around him.

Lucian took another slow step forward, his voice steady. "I'm not here to fight you." His words were measured, like the cold air that clung to him. "But if you don't get a grip on your fire, you're going to burn yourself alive."

The flames roared in response, flaring higher for a brief moment, like a wild animal being cornered. Cade's eyes flared as he met Lucian's gaze, a mixture of defiance and agony swirling within them. His fists clenched, the fire wrapping around his hands, crackling and snapping like an electrical storm about to break loose.

"You don't understand!" Cade's voice was a raw snarl, laced with bitterness and desperation. "You think you can contain this?!" He gestured violently to the flames encircling his body, flames that reflected his inner turmoil. "You think you can just control what's inside me?! You can't stop this, Lucian! No one can!"

Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly, his cold gaze intensifying. He could feel the raw emotion pouring off Cade, feeding the flames, driving them higher and hotter. It wasn't just the fire—it was everything Cade had been through. The underground fights, the struggle to keep his flames in check, and most of all, the rejection. Alek. That wound was still bleeding, and Lucian could see it clearly in the way Cade's flames flared erratically, responding to the emotional storm raging inside him.