All Chapters of What Survived The Burn: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Simon’s POVIt was the day of the ceremony.Our bedroom—or rather, what used to be our bedroom—felt like a hollow echo of what it once was. The walls were still the same soft gray, and the bed still sat in the center of the room, but all of our belongings were gone. Packed away and placed into storage. Even the air had shifted, no longer charged with the same familiarity. Tonight, Caleb and Maren would return to this room as Alpha and Luna of this pack. Loria and I would disappear into the night with nothing but enchanted backpacks and the weight of an uncertain future.We stood naked in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, the glass fogged lightly from the heat of our skin and the closeness of the moment we had just shared. My hands still rested loosely around Loria's waist, our bodies flush, her breath just beginning to steady. There was something deeply symbolic in the way we stood there—not just lovers or mates, but leaders on the edge of something brand new.Loria raised her han

Loria’s POVWe portaled four times today.Each location was promising for one reason or another—and each failed us in ways we hadn’t quite anticipated.The first had too many exposure points, open terrain that left the tree line too far off for comfort. The second looked perfect until the sound of distant gunfire made it clear a shooting range or hunter’s trail wasn’t far. The third—well, it was beautiful. Serene. Mountain views with the smell of pines thick in the air. But the altitude gave Simon a headache, and honestly, the terrain was just too rocky to build what we wanted. The fourth was… fine. A wide clearing by a small lake, bordered by thick trees and distant mountains.But it was too small.Zerina grumbled inside my head the moment we stepped into it."We’d barely have space to expand," she muttered, pacing behind my eyes. "Let alone raise children here."I agreed. Still, there was something peaceful about the place. Enough that I hesitated."We could camp here for the night,

Simon’s POVLoria shoved the plate toward me again, eyebrows lifted, dead serious.“Eat,” she said, her voice lined with steel.I huffed out a breath and picked up the fork. She didn’t have to say it twice. Okay—she did say it twice, but I’d only ignored her the first time because I was still trying to keep my damn magic from flaring out through the roof of this tent. My skin felt too tight, like I’d grown two sizes since I’d opened my eyes this morning.It wasn’t pain, not exactly. It was pressure. Constant, humming, alive.She was trying not to hover, but I could tell from the set of her shoulders and the stillness of her gaze that she was watching for signs that I might combust.I wasn’t planning on combusting.Still, when I took the first few bites of eggs and felt the warmth settle in my stomach, I realized just how much I’d needed it. The food helped center me. Loria always knew exactly what I needed—even when I didn’t.She sat on the floor beside me, cross-legged with her own p

Loria’s POVThe kitchen was massive, tucked behind double swinging doors just off the main corridor. Stone hearths lined one wall. Rusted pots hung above ancient counters, and there were at least six iron stoves—none of them functional. A few dry wooden prep tables sat in the center, warped by time and age.“This is going to take some serious energy,” I said, frowning.Simon stepped up beside me. “Let’s do it together.”We didn’t speak after that. Our magic rose, golden and white, the tendrils of it curling outward like fingers searching for understanding. I focused on the structure—stability, purpose, cleanliness. Zerina poured power through me like a second heartbeat.Simon’s magic hummed through the floor—low and steady, like the earth itself responding to his call. Where mine restored the soul of the kitchen, his strengthened the body. Cracks in the stone healed. The rust disappeared. The air warmed, fragrant with subtle herbs and soapstone.The counters gleamed again, marble emer

Loria’s POVAndy sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by open books, parchment scrolls, and at least one leather-bound ledger that had half-crumbled when he turned the first page. The boy looked like a feral academic—hair sticking up, shirt rumpled, and a gleam in his eye that was equal parts obsession and discovery.“I went through this whole shelf,” he announced, not even bothering to look up. “Took me about an hour. Most of it’s basic education stuff. Math, grammar, a few entries on herbs. There’s even a celestial astronomy section that I’m pretty sure has outdated star charts, but it’s beautiful.”I smiled, crouching beside him as I brushed a little dust off one of the scrolls near his feet. “So nothing magical?”“Oh, there’s magic,” he said quickly, flipping open a thick journal bound with gold leaf. “It’s subtle. Hidden in plain sight. Like… okay, see this one?” He jabbed his finger at a cracked page covered in elegant handwriting. “It’s a lesson book. English grammar. But