Page 55 of Flames

I glance at Kole and tighten my grip on his hand. “I need you all to promise that you’ll listen to me before you freak out.” They are silent, so I repeat myself. “I need you to promise.”

At the same time, they mumble their promises. “Go ahead,” Tanner says. “Tell us, Nova. We’ll listen.”

“I saw how to stop The King from returning to Earth.” I look at them each in turn. “I have to die.”

* * *

There is a moment of quivering silence, then Luther scoffs and stands up. “No. No fucking way. This is crazy.”

“I have to die, so I can return as The Phoenix.”

“You’re already The Phoenix,” Luther snaps, fire flashing in his eyes.

“Luther…” Sam tugs Luther’s hand. “We promised we’d listen. She’s not done.”

“Yes, she is,” he bites. “I’m not listening to her talking about dying. That’s the opposite of what the prophecy says.”

“No…” Mack interrupts. He is hanging his head in his hands but looks up when he says, “It’s exactly what the prophecy says. Into the fire. One, two, three. Devoured by flame, The Phoenix is She.”

I nod and smile sorrowfully at him. I am trying to beat down the sickening fear in my stomach and focus on what I know to be true. “In order for The King to ascend, or cross-over, or whatever you want to call it, he needs my blood. That’s what all this has been about. The hellhounds were supposed to capture me and take me to Eve so she can drain me. When I’m dead, he’ll drink from me, and you know what my blood does.” I look at Tanner and Kole. “It will give him the power to enter our dimension.”

“So, you’re going to kill yourself first, is that it?” Luther barks, waving his hands and shaking his head. “It’s fucking bullshit crazy, that’s what it is. Why would the prophecy say fated to five if all you need to do is jump off a cliff to solve our problems?”

“Luther,” I say firmly. “I’m not going to kill myself.” I squeeze Kole’s hand again and he squeezes me back. “I’m going to let the hounds take me, and I’m going to let Eve drain my blood.”

“Nova—” Tanner tries to speak but I hold up my hand to stop him.

“The King will drink my blood, hell will break free, and he will return. But so will I.”

Standing up, I stretch out my arms and pull the images from my vision back into my mind. Lightning crackles on my skin. My eyes flash, and my voice darkens. “I will be reborn. The power of The Original Six will be magnified in my blood. Your love for me, with their love for Ava, and the grief you all feel will swirl, and intensify, and bring me back. And then I will destroy him once and for all. We will destroy him.”

I expect one of them to speak, but they are simply staring at me with darkness and fear in their faces.

Kole clears his throat and speaks up. “If all we do is seal the portal, The King will try again, and he’ll keep trying until he succeeds. If Nova’s plan succeeds, he will be vanquished forever. Not for a thousand years, not for ten thousand… forever.”

Still, the others are silent.

My heart thuds viciously in my ears. My hands are shaking, so I lace my fingers together and close my eyes. “Kole and I both saw it. It has to happen this way. I don’t want to leave you all. I don’t want this to be the way it happens, but it has to. We’ve seen it. I have to die.” I open my eyes again and draw in a deep aching breath. I try to steady my breathing and center myself. I draw my shoulders back and tilt my chin up. Then with more confidence than I really feel, I tell them, “The only question now is whether the five of you can give me one last beautiful day before the end? Or if we’re going to spend it arguing about something fate has already decided.” I tilt my head and start with Luther. “So, what’ll it be?”

38

LUTHER

I’m so livid, I can barely breathe. I yell at the top of my lungs and send two swirling balls of fire out across the lake.

A solemn silence hangs over the others while Nova waits for her answer. I turn away from her, and I’m about to pace into the trees when Kole catches my arm.

“You’ll regret it if you don’t do this with her,” he says, meeting my eyes. “It has to happen, Luther. Arguing or running away won’t change it.” His voice falters a little, and I notice that his big Viking hands are shaking when he strokes his beard. “The best thing we can do is give her the day she asked for. Spend the next twelve hours together, then…” He trails off.

“How?” I turn back and interrupt what Nova’s saying to Tanner. “How will it happen?”

She stares at him for a moment, then sits down and the cold early-morning sand. I hesitate before following suit. Kole stands behind her, hands on her shoulders, like a fucking sentinel, like it’s his responsibility to remain stoic, and calm, and devoid of emotion.

Nova slides her hand into mine. Over the past few weeks, I’ve grown used to how warm she is. No other woman has ever run hot enough for me; even other fire witches feel cool to the touch. But Nova is fire. She’s the warmth I’ve needed my whole miserable life, and she’s telling me the conclusion to all of this is that I have to say goodbye to her? I stare at our entwined fingers. A lump of emotion settles in my throat.

“I’ll go to The Hollow. I’ll make them think I’m there to kill Eve, but I’ll let them capture me.” She looks around at the rest of us. “The five of you have to stay away. You can’t come with me.”

I shake my head, almost laughing. “So, we just wave goodbye? Sit here not knowing what the fuck happened?” I search her face, hoping she can see from my eyes that this is killing me too.