The air split with the roar of flame and the clash of claw on stone. Velnair, which had been a quiet collection of ancient towers and neglected streets, now roared like an animal, purring with violence. The pale trembling sky above looked on without closing its eyelid. And below it, Serena burned.
Not metaphorically. Not emotionally.
Truly, she burned.
Fire whipped around her hands and slithered up her arms like frenzied ribbons. Her feet, still planted on the balcony's stone, felt buoyant — as if the fire in her wanted to tear itself from gravity and leap into the sky.
Lucian had witnessed many a thing in his life. But never this.
Serena was glowing. Her hair shone like copper in a forge, and her eyes — her eyes had become twin orbs of starlight, all fire and depth. She was no longer human.
She looked like a story. A legend. The good parents whispered about long ago.
