Mag-log inSoren's Pov Panic clawed at my chest, tears blurring my vision. This couldn't be real. Not her. Not like this. The door burst open. "Kay, I literally heard you screaming... not sex screams..." Freaya trailed off, her eyes taking in the horror. "I don't know what happened... we were just... I lost track of time..." I stammered, still holding Kahlan's body. "Get away from her," Freaya said, her voice ice-cold. In the same instant, she lifted me with magic, flinging me into the wall. Pain exploded through my back, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart. "Kah..." "She's dead, and you killed her," Freya said with finality, her words slicing through me like a blade. "You killed her! You killed her! You murdered my best friend! You..." ****~~~~ I jumped awake for real this time, gasping, sweat pouring down my body. Kahlan was in my arms, stirring awake with me. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice laced with concern. She's alive. Relief flooded me, but it wa
The voice came from the open doorway. It was sharp, female, and calm. My head snapped toward the sound immediately and a girl stood there in the frame like she belonged in this place. She was tall and radiating confidence, Her hair was a deep black, pulled into a tight braid that fell over one shoulder. Her eyes were dark and the more she looked across the room the more it felt like she was seeing everything. She looked at us, narrowing her eyes as if to tell us that she's missing nothing in this place. The cloth she wore was worn at the edges but kept clean, molded to her frame like a second skin. Her posture was relaxed, but there was nothing vulnerable about the way she stood. She was dangerous. My eyes darted quickly over to Sam. Samantha stood just a few inches behind the newcomer. Sam was the opposite of the woman in the doorway. Where Chloe was sharp and jagged, Sam was soft and rounded. She looked younger. Gentler. Human in a way that Chloe simply didn't. “Is she…”
Kahlan's POV “They are free to leave… why won’t they leave?” I whispered, my voice barely a thread in the still air.My fingers curled against the wooden frame as I peered through the open window.Outside, they stayed there like they were frozen in time. Some sat on the ground in huddled groups, their heads bowed in defeat.A few stared toward the distant wall like they were waiting for it to disappear or open up for them.They were free. There were no iron chains or guards forcing them to stay.And yet they remained rooted to the spot, unable to move forward. It didn’t make sense to me, the concept of staying in a cage when the door was wide open.“It doesn’t matter,” Freya said from behind me, her voice carrying easily through the quiet space.“Tomorrow the guards will distribute food and money to the masses. Some of them will find the strength to leave then.”I turned slightly, glancing at her over my shoulder.“They should,” I said, my heart sinking. “Because we can’t stay here a
KahlanNo one said anything. They just stared at me so I tried anyway.“I don’t know what to say. I guess I was just really mad that people here were being treated like that. And before I knew it I was standing in the middle of a burning building and I could feel nothing at all. No heat. No pain. Nothing. So I just…”“You walked out?” Dylan asked, cutting me off.I nodded slowly.“Yeah.”The silence that followed was worse than anything else. They were all looking at me like I’d grown a second head—like they didn’t know me anymore.“Freya,” I said quietly, turning to her. “What’s happening to me?”She opened her mouth, then closed it again. For once, Freya had nothing to say. I turned to Soren.“Before the battle at Ravenside,” I said, my voice softer, “you said you read up on the flame. Any ideas?”He didn’t answer. He just stood there, staring at me. His face was blank, but there was something underneath it. Something tight. Something he was trying so hard to control.I held his ga
Kahlan's POV I stepped out of the building while it was still burning. Flames climbed the walls behind me and for a brief second I felt the heat at my back before it stopped pulling away like it knew better. People were shouting—The guards were trying to put out the fire, others froze in place watching the fire take up everything—but the moment they saw me, everything stopped. Buckets fell, hands stilled as they stared at me like I had grown three heads. And I could tell it wasn't because I was naked or because the house behind me was on fire. It was because I wasn’t burning. I wasn’t screaming in pain or anything. If anything, I felt… blank. The chaos around me sounded distant, like I was underwater. My emotions were muted, dulled down to almost nothing—except for one thing. Warmth. It flooded my system all at once, sharp and familiar, wrapping around my chest so tightly I staggered. “Soren?” I whispered, mostly to myself. My eyes scanned the crowd despe
Kahlan's PovI felt nothing but you're disgust.He leaned forward, his tongue darting out to lick the side of my neck.I didn't respond. I didn't flinch. I just stared through him, my mind white with a burgeoning, silent fury.He pulled me toward a large, sturdy house at the edge of the clearing and shoved me inside.A council of men sat around a long table, their faces shadowed by the flickering lamplight.I immediately spotted the one who had stripped me—the leader who thought he owned my future."Ah," he said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "The one who spat in your face. I love the fighters. Breaking them is always the best part."The men around him chuckled, their conversation devolving into the most uncouth, vile ramblings I had ever heard.They spoke about me as if I were a piece of livestock, debating who would get to use me first and how they would enjoy me while I was still covered in the blood of my "breaking.""Since that's all you people seem to want," I interrupt







