I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XXXX ] Heavenly Fire

"Emma, I promise I am not going to let the ocean take you." Julian laughed as he dragged Emma out into the water, the small waves lapping at her ankles. He was holding her wrist and she was not budging, feet planted into the damp sand.

"No no no, I'm fine on dry land, thank you very much!" She was laughing as her feet were leaving tracks in the beach. Finally she released her stance and stumbled closer to Julian who caught her up in his arms. He gracefully threw her over his shoulder and walked out deeper into the water. She couldn't help the giddy laughter as she bounced against him. The sun was dipping lower into the sky, coloring the Los Angeles ocean orange. They were sixteen now, and it was her and Jules' favorite time to go to the beach, most of the mundane tourists had left for the night so they had an entire stretch of beach to themselves. He pulled her down and held her among the waves, the shock of the cool water on her stomach making her yelp. One of his arms was around her waist, the other treading water. His blue-green eyes were warm in the reflection of the setting sun, but there was something else there – something she had been seeing more and more lately. It made her smile widen.

He smiled brightly, that strange dreamlike gaze settled on her, "See? You're fine. You're with your parabatai, Em. I told you I'd always be there for you. I won't let go."

I won't let go.

The feel of the cool water vanished; Emma wasn't in the ocean off the coast, she wasn't in the circle of Julian's arm. She was in the Seelie Court, her blood pooling in the grass below her, staining the vibrant green. The field in front of her was a raging inferno, the fire not natural, but a blinding white. The feel of death stained the air, as if the world around them was dying. Emma realized she was screaming, her fingernails biting into the skin of her arm. Why? Why was she screaming? She felt dizzy, disoriented. Reality was flooding back in an incessant tide, she wanted to scramble away from it, but it barreled into it her with the force of a train. The silence faded into the crackle of flames and her screams, the heat of the fire pricking her skin. She had no idea where Kit and Ash were, but she couldn't bring herself to look for them. She couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare at the scene before her. She felt hands on her shoulders and shoved them away.

"Don't – Don't touch me!" She rasped as if she had swallowed hot coals. She had no idea how long she had been screaming or when she had stopped, but she could still feel the track of tears cooling her burning skin. He was gone. Julian was gone. She couldn't breathe, every breath of air she tried to swallow felt like it was choking her. Her head hurt from the blinding light, but nothing hurt more than the ache in her chest - where she had felt a snap. She didn't know what it was, couldn't explain it other than feeling like something was pulling you in two different directions until you broke. And that's what she was now - broken.

***

I'm sorry, Ty. I'm so sorry. It was all Kit could think as he stared at the flames raging in front of him. It was so bright, he couldn't see anything past it. Ty had asked him to bring his brother home, it was the one thing he asked. The thing he needed. He had already lost his twin, now he lost his older brother and it was all Kit's fault. He felt tears drip down from his chin but he refused to wipe them away. His hearing had gone from the sound of the explosion, it was slowly starting to come back now. But all he could hear was Emma screaming. She was on the ground in front of him, gripping her arm tightly. Her fingernails were drawing blood, the crimson liquid mixing with the rest of her blood that was still steadily leaking from her leg wound. He realized with a stroke of heartache that she was gripping where her parabatai rune was, only when her hand moved, there was no dark ink in sight. Nothing but a faded scar. It was like a kick in the stomach, he gasped dropping to his knees. Ash was trying to console her, to pull her away from the blaze; she was too close. She shoved Ash away, her voice rasping out between sobs.