Chapter Forty-Three

I was on fire. Burning. No relief, no matter how I writhed. My flesh sizzled, blood evaporating, and muscles turning into meat.

And yet, when I looked down at myself, I was whole.

"Vax," I moaned.

"Mate!" Vax had me cradled in his lap. Tears gushed down his cheeks. "What's happening? What's wrong with you?"

"I'm burning inside," I gasped. "Fire."

"This is why only Dragons should use Ensarena's Eye. Land Dragons," King Lyrandir said. "It was made for us."

"What does that mean?" Vax snarled. "What's happening to him?"

"He's paying the price for the magic he stole."

Paying the price. Those very words had occurred to me when I used the Eye. I thought payment had been made, but it was only a taste of what was to come. A warning. Fire now demanded I fuel it. And not just for a second. By its very nature, it consumed. Ravaged. Destroyed everything it touched. And it had touched me.

"Vax, I'm so sorry," I panted, knowing this wouldn't just kill me, it might take him down with me.

"No, Mate," Vax said. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. Just stay with me."

"I don't think I can." I sucked in a breath and even that burned. Moaning, I added, "I want to."

"No! You're not doing that shit to me again. Do you hear me, Zixin? Don't you leave me! I will fucking follow your soul into the beyond. I'll hunt you down and pull you back into your body!"

"I love you so much," I said, using all of my strength to lift my hand and touch his face. "Don't tear apart the palace again. We loved a lot in the time we had. That's a gift. But don't let the gift become a curse. Let me go. Move on, Vax. Know that I want you to."

"Shut up!" Vax roared. "You're not dying!"

"Uh, he is," Lyrandir said.

"Shut up!" Vax roared again.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Aras asked.

"Me?" Lyrandir seemed baffled. "What could . . ." he trailed off, then cleared his throat. "Maybe."

"What?" Vaxarion's voice went desperate. "You can help him? If you can, do it!"

"I don't know if this will work," Lyrandir said.

"Ly, you have to try," Aras said firmly.

"There's great risk involved. For me. I could burn with him."

"Great risk involved in what?" Aras asked. "What would you have to do?"

"I'd have to coerce the Fire out of him and back into the stone. But it will need to go through me."

"Name your price!" Vax said. "I'll pay it. Whatever it is. I beg you! He's my mate!"

"Vax," I whispered. "It's all right." But then the pain increased, and I screamed.

"Help him!" Aras and Vax shouted together.

"Fine. Just know that I'm doing this for you, Aras," Lyrandir grumbled. "And I'll need the Eye."

Vax didn't balk or even hesitate. He handed the Eye over.

Lyrandir knelt beside me, placed one palm on my chest, and held Ensarena's Eye to his chest with his other hand. The stone began to glow. The expression on Lyrandir's face hardened. Flames licked over his fingers. That dark, deadly stare locked on me. I couldn't close my eyes or look away. It felt as if Lyrandir had chained me with his stare. And then he poured himself down that connection.

I shuddered, past the point of screaming, as Lyrandir's soul entered my body. Absently, I heard Vax cry out as well. I felt our bond jerk. Flinch. Then it shone, blasting its light into the invader.

"Ease back," Lyrandir growled, his voice strained. "I can't help him if I have to fight you."

The bond between my mate and me softened.

And then everything went red. I sank into myself. I was falling. Falling forever in a red sky. No. I fell through flames. No. A jewel. I was in Ensarena's Eye. Trapped. Dropping from one point to the other. Crossing the view of the Goddess. And she was not happy with me. I had used a power that didn't belong to me.

But then her son dove through the shining point. Hair as red as the stone streamed behind him. Eyes as dark as the deepest part of the sea locked on me. A clawed hand extended. Lyrandir looked like my death personified. But I knew he was the opposite. If I ever wanted to get free of the Goddess and return to my mate, I had to take his hand.

Ensarena had no compassion for me, and certainly not for my mate. Vax was a child of Karadas, not hers. But her child sought to help me. His determination and strength appeased the Goddess.

His hand closed around mine.

The burning stopped. The pain vanished. No, not vanished. Traveled. Fire moved out of my chest, down my arm, and through my hand. It left me and entered Lyrandir. His grip tightened. His lips parted to bare his teeth. Burning light traveled up his arm and into his chest.

Our freefall through Ensarena's Eye slowed. We came even with each other.

"Lyrandir," I said, reaching for him with my other hand.

"No!" Lyrandir growled and let go of me. "You need to leave. Now!" With a punch to my chest, he expelled me from the Eye.