Chapter 33 - Inferno

  The gunshot shattered the night.

  A single, deafening crack split the air, and Kael jerked violently, his body arching in agony as the bullet tore through his abdomen. A sharp, wet gasp forced its way from his throat, and he slumped against the post, his body weakening.

  Nova’s breath hitched.

  Kael coughed, the sound ragged and horrible, thick with blood that spilled from his mouth, dark and heavy as it dripped from his lips. His eyes fluttered, unfocused, dazed. His breathing came in uneven, shallow gasps. His pulse, once strong and steady, was now barely there, a weak, faltering beat beneath his skin. His fingers twitched, curling slightly before going still.

  No. No, no, no.

  Nova's ears roared with the sound of her own heartbeat. Everything else blurred, dimmed, except for the blood pooling beneath him, dark and thick, a stain against the earth.

  The bond between them pulled taut, stretched to the breaking point, unraveling at the edges. A crushing sense of loss swept through her, something breaking deep in her chest.

  Kael was slipping away, and she couldn’t save him.

  Something inside her fractured.

  A brutal, splintering break deep in her soul, vicious and relentless, like an unseen force ripping her apart from the inside.

  A sound built inside her, low, guttural, and inhuman. It wasn’t a growl, wasn’t a snarl. It was something ancient, raw, a force that had been waiting, buried beneath the surface, and now it was free.

  Then the fire came.

  A shockwave of white-hot flame erupted from Nova’s body, violent and untamed. The nearest wolves and men were thrown back like ragdolls, their bodies slamming into trees, their screams cut short as the fire consumed them whole.

  The air distorted, waves of heat rippling through the camp. The temperature soared, scorching the earth beneath her paws. Flames burst to life, crawling hungrily across the ground, spreading in all directions.

  Nova didn’t command it.

  She was it.

  The wooden post Kael was bound to ignited instantly, the flames racing up the rope, devouring it in seconds. The ground trembled beneath her, the air thick with burning ash.

  And then the screams began.

  The fire hunted down the rest of those not immediately incinerated in the first blast, both wolf and man alike. It devoured them, relished them. The heat grew, pulsing outward in waves of destruction.

  There was no escape.

  The trees? Gone.

  The camp? Ash.

  The traitors? Burned alive.

  The flames slithered across the clearing like living serpents, their hunger insatiable. The sky glowed orange, thick with smoke, turning the world into an endless inferno.

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  And then there was the leader.

  The man who had shot Kael.

  Nova’s eyes locked onto him through the flames, and the fire answered.

  It coiled around his legs, climbing higher, searing his flesh. He stumbled back, a strangled noise escaping him as he slapped at the flames, but they only burned hotter. The fire fed on his agony, twisting higher, eating through his coat, his skin, like a slow acid.

  Then it reached his face.

  His screams curdled the air, shrill and broken as his features melted away, his own hands blistering as he clawed at his burning flesh. He dropped to his knees, writhing, the fire swallowing his desperate cries.

  But Nova wasn’t done.

  More.

  The inferno surged, spiraling into the sky, turning the night into a blazing, merciless hell.

  She couldn’t stop it.

  She didn’t want to stop it.

  They had hurt him.

  They had tried to take what was hers.

  She would end them all.

  The fire roared, stretching higher, devouring everything in its reach.

  Then, a touch brushed against her.

  A weak, trembling hand…Kael’s

  A jolt of awareness pierced through the flames, cutting through the rage.

  His fingers brushed her fur, barely gripping, barely holding on, but still there.

  His voice, weak, broken, but real.

  "Nova..."

  She froze.

  His amber eyes, hazed with pain, locked onto hers through the fire. Even now, even half-conscious, he was reaching for her.

  Pulling her back.

  The inferno faltered.

  The flames flickered, wavering for the first time.

  Nova’s body shook, the fire desperate to consume more, to keep burning.

  But Kael needed her.

  A strangled snarl tore from her throat as she fought to rein it in, forcing the fire to obey. The flames twisted, no longer expanding, but collapsing within.

  As she reached for him, the flames hungrily wrapped around his body. The moment they touched him, they changed. The searing heat turned warm, soothing, and golden. The destruction that had torn through everything else became something gentle. A force that recognized him, claimed him, protected him.

  The moment it touched him, Kael arched with a sharp gasp. His entire body began to glow, and Nova watched, stunned and breathless, as his wounds began to heal.

  The torn flesh knitted back together, broken bones fused, bruises faded, the bullet wound disappeared as if it had never existed…his heartbeat regained strength.

  The fire that had destroyed everything else…was healing him.

  Kael exhaled sharply, his body steady as he pushed himself upright. The pain was gone, vanished as if it had never existed. Around them, nothing remained but scorched earth and smoldering ash. The remnants of the camp, the trees, the men—it had all been consumed.

  Nova staggered forward, Athena’s control over her now released. Her human form now finally reclaimed, her breath came in shallow gasps. Her hands trembled, her mind still reeling from what had just happened.

  The fire died, and for the first time, the night was silent.

  Kael was still alive.

  That was all that mattered.

  Nova didn’t have time to process what had happened. Didn’t have time to think about what she had done. All she knew was that the entire camp was gone, but Kael was whole.

  Her legs wobbled beneath her, the edges of her vision blurring. A strange numbness settled over her limbs, her body swaying as exhaustion crashed into her like a tidal wave. The heat that had consumed her had drained away, leaving her cold, empty.

  She blinked at Kael, trying to focus, trying to hold onto the relief of seeing him standing there, alive, but the world tilted violently. The scorched earth beneath her feet felt distant, unreal.

  "Nova?" Kael's voice was sharp, urgent, but it sounded far away, muffled, as if she were submerged underwater.

  She barely registered him moving toward her before her knees buckled. The last thing she felt was strong arms catching her before the darkness swallowed her whole.