Legacy of Fire (The Blaze Trilogy - Book #1)

Chapter 29

I don’t bother running anymore. I think I’ve finally figured out why there are no guards. He knew I would come for him. 

So I walk slowly down the hallways, until the room doors stop and it’s just smooth wall flanking me. I keep my eyes fixed on the cameras above me as I go. Let him see my amber irises. Let him know what I’m capable of. 

Finally the white tunnel opens into a large room. They’re already waiting for me. On one side stands a woman I don’t recognise, with severe, blunt hair and pointy features. But there’s the Consium star pinned to her robes and I know who she is. Hannova. 

And then my eyes fall on the other face, and it takes all my strength not to lunge forward and rip his head of right there and then. His complexion seems to have become even more sallow and waxy - his eye sockets are sunken, like the black pits of his pupils are drawing the life out of them. His expression is smug, with his bloodless lips curved into a smirk. Then he waves his hand towards me, his thin, skeletal fingers curling to invite me forward. 

I can feel the bile rise in my throat. 

“How lovely to see you, Daughter of Rosentar,” Kathu says softly. “I was beginning to think we’d never meet again.”

I narrow my eyes. “I have a hard time believing that.” 

He gives me a knowing smile. “You’ve been busy, my dear. I hear that the Terran have been hailing you as their precious saviour - their special little Fireborne.”

The burning spreads through my body. Hungry to bite. “You’ve already felt my flames.”

He nods, stretching his hands out in front of him. “Ah, yes. That faithful night when your fire consumed me.” 

“It appears you survived, unfortunately.”

“Wondrous, isn’t it?” He claps his hands joyfully. “I have our dear Consium medics to thank for reconstructing my skin - we really have advanced to incredible stages, don’t you agree?” 

“Enough,” I snap. “You knew I’d come, and you know exactly why.” On cue, the fire ignites in my hands, crackling with anticipation. Waiting to strike.

I see a flicker of fear in Hannova’s eyes, but Kathu’s face remains impassive. He shakes his head with a grin. “Tsk, tsk, not so fast, my dear. I think there’s someone you’d like to see?” The back door slides open, and two guards drag in a hunched, robed figure. 

My fire and spirit seem to extinguish as one. 

Mendell looks older than when I last saw him, the lines of his face deep and worn. The mouth of a revolver is pressed close to his temple. He looks unharmed, at least, but there is the sharp glint of desperation in his eyes. Some wounds run deep past the surface. 

My heart sinks deeper to the ground as the awful realisation hits me. I’ve just stumbled into a trap. One designed specifically for me.

“What have you done!” I scream at Kathu. “How dare you imprison him - he is the Elder of the Collective! The South will never stand for this!” 

“Ah yes, the Southern families.” Kathu clucks his tongue. “I do hold our pure-blooded people in the highest regard, yet… I can’t help feeling that they’re becoming complacent.”

“Complacent?” I croak.

Kathu shrugs. “Our regime has been around for centuries, and yet the dissent grows stronger against us. That must be rectified. We must regain control.”

“Because you lie!” I hiss. “You kill anyone who opposes you! That was never meant to be the way of the South or the Consium!” 

Kathu cocks his head. “My dear… I have removed the Consium from the equation.”