The Flames That Bind Us (Daughter of Fire #1)

✔Chapter Thirty Five: The Girl Who Burned

The old bastard lied.

Either that or ghosts really did exist.

All I knew was that my heart was beating too quickly for my brain to comprehend. As if every emotion was pouring into me all at once. My chest felt both empty and full, and I could sense my thoughts going quiet, stilling for a moment.

Even Gabriel had stood beside me, grey eyes not lifting from the face of the man everyone had presumed to be dead.

Grandpa's steps were uncoordinated, and I knew he was halfway into being completely drunk before he teleported here. How on Ignolia had he managed to find me, I had no clue. But it might have something to do with the bracelet on my wrist as its glow was fading.

But all these questions resided at the back of my head, and instead, my body was quickly rising up with one emotion that overawed everything; anger.

He was alive...

He was never dead!

The funeral, the letter-all of it, it was all a lie!

Despite the darkness of the night, I could see the slight softening in those bright green eyes when he approached me carefully.

"Lydia..." he started to say, his voice heavy from drinking. He blinked twice at me to shake away the bleariness. "I know what you're feeling-"

A cry ripped out of me so loud that both he and Gabriel flinched and jumped back. But I had flown at him, with all the anger inside me, all the simmering rage. My throbbing hand blazed into flames, the bloodied flesh mending to close off the bleeding, and I had directed it at him with nothing but frustration and temper in my body.

"You bastard!" I shouted, bringing down my fist, but he had used an energy shield to block it. I screamed again. "You lied to me." I set the other one on fire and tried to land a punch. "You lied to me!"

He was calmly dodging every hit, and I couldn't even see him properly anymore. My tears had made it impossible to spot anything but hazy shapes.

But I had kept going. With every attempted punch, with every strength I put to it, the guilt and rage had seeped out of me.

I had mourned him, felt guilt gnawing at me with every memory of him for not having the chance to say goodbye, for having my last words to him be those of stupid hate.

And yet, and yet...

"How could you!?" I spat, my throat hurting from the constant screams.

"Lydia, please..." I hated how quiet he was as if my outrage didn't faze him at all. "Let me explain-"

"I don't need anything from you," I growled, my breath getting caught in my chest. It felt so hard to breathe. Hurt flashed in his eyes, but it only fueled my anger. "There's absolutely no reason for me to even listen to you. You lied to me. You always have!"

"I know." He lifted a hand as if to calm me, but I glared at it. "But I only did it because I wanted to protect you."

I almost wanted to laugh. Almost. "And you thought that faking your own death would help with doing that!?"

I shook my head at him, at the sheer disbelief at what he was capable of. He had me tricked. He had all of us tricked. And for what?

"How were you even able to do that?" It was Gabriel who asked, stepping forward. He trailed his eyes up and down Lucius' form as if to make sure he was real.

"It doesn't matter," I cut in before he could explain, realizing he probably had some help from someone with a high rank. Gerard's face came to mind, and my glower further deepened. "He most likely sought the help of a dear old friend for it."