All Chapters of When the World Burned: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes, I realized the suffocating heatwave wasn't there.But I still remembered vividly the way I had died in my last life, drained of blood and strangled until I couldn't breathe. I turned and looked at Snowviper beside me, and a shiver ran down my spine.According to Beastfolk tradition, a beastfolk had to marry the person who saved their life. I was supposed to be with Blazewing. But because my sister, Raven Webster, thought Snowviper was too terrifying to look at, she stole Blazewing for herself.A month later, the whole world turned hotter, and the heatwave apocalypse began.Snowviper's power, just like his name, could lower the temperature within ten feet of him, creating a living shield against the burning world. Blazewing, on the other hand, carried the opposite—heat and fire.Raven took Blazewing, but she died of heat stroke in the heatwave apocalypse, while I survived thanks to Snowviper's cooling power.In her final moments, Raven was convinced I had

Chapter 2

I glanced at Blazewing, who was curled up tightly beside me.Poor Blazewing. From the moment he hatched, he'd been trembling nonstop. He only calmed down a little when Raven said she wanted Snowviper instead.I didn't bother wasting words on Snowviper or Raven. I just took Blazewing and headed out the door."Megan, are you sure you want me?"I reached out, wanting to pat his head, but Blazewing flinched back instinctively. His wide, frightened eyes were locked on me."I didn't mean to upset you! Please don't hit me."Even as he said it, his body trembled uncontrollably. He forced himself to lean his head toward me, as if he was bracing for punishment."What are you talking about? Why would I ever hit you?"Then it clicked. Blazewing had also been reborn."Did Raven—""N-no, don't mention her!"His whole body spasmed as if I'd stabbed him, and he curled into himself, eyes streaming blood.Seeing him like that, I understood. Raven had tortured him in his past life.I pulled

Chapter 3

Blazewing's eyes lit up instantly.I told him everything about my past life—the way Snowviper had tortured me, drained my blood every single day, and eventually killed me.Blazewing looked stunned."No way. According to Beastfolk tradition, we're supposed to be completely loyal to the one who saved us. No matter how they treat us, we're bound to endure it. If we break that ancient rule, we'll face severe punishment. How could he do that to you?"I gave a bitter smile and shook my head. "I don't know either. And what do you mean by 'severe punishment'?""I'm not sure. I only know it's really, really bad.""I see. Forget it. No point thinking about it now."I pulled Blazewing down with me onto the couch."The heatwave apocalypse is almost here. Shouldn't we be preparing something?"We thought about it. Air conditioners wouldn't help. Once the apocalypse started, the power and water systems would collapse.In the end, I decided to go out to my family's old country house and dig

Chapter 4

Before Raven could finish her sentence, Snowviper sank his fangs into her arm."Ahh!!" Raven let out a blood-curdling scream. Her whole body went stiff, frozen in place. I knew exactly what that meant—his venom had paralyzed her muscles. The price of that paralysis was cruel. It amplified her pain nerves thousands of times.This meant the pain she felt was thousands of times worse than a normal snakebite.Her face twisted in agony as her screams echoed through the cellar, stabbing into my ears like needles. I couldn't take it anymore and quickly shut the copper mirror.When I turned around, I caught Blazewing staring at me with a complicated look."What's wrong, Blaze?" I asked.Without warning, he pulled me into his arms and wrapped me up with his wings."Is that how Snowviper treated you in your past life?"So that was what this was—he felt sorry for me.For some reason, my nose stung, and my chest ached a little.In my last life, my parents had always favored Raven. They

Chapter 5

Raven went quiet for a couple of seconds after I spoke. Then she let out two sharp laughs."What are you talking about? Are you so eaten up with jealousy that you've lost your mind?"I sneered and said calmly, "Do you really think you're the only one who got a second chance? Oh, and by the way, Blazewing is doing great. I should thank you, really, for letting him end up with me."I hung up right after saying that.Through the copper mirror, I saw Raven hurl the phone and start throwing a fit. Snowviper frowned at her tantrum."What's wrong with you? Why are you freaking out?""Megan's reborn, too! She knows everything you've done to me!"Snowviper's lips curled. "So what if she knows?""That means I have no advantage over her! She's probably laughing at me behind my back right now!"He leaned closer, voice silky. "But I can give you cool air. What does she have? Blazewing's a useless waste. He's nothing compared to me."At that, Raven relaxed a little, her shoulders dropping.

Chapter 6

Blazewing told me to stay put in the cellar while he flew up to check things out.It felt like forever before he finally came back down. He looked rattled and told me the floodwater outside was getting worse. Sure, the cellar had a cover over it, but with so much water piling up, he was afraid we'd be completely underwater in just a few days.That was when it clicked for me.The crazy heat must've melted the glaciers at the South Pole. With all that water and the temperature this high, no wonder it kept raining nonstop. If this went on, it would be flooding everywhere.And when that happened, Blazewing and I would end up drowning right here in this cellar.I shared my thoughts with him, and he agreed it made sense."We have to get out of here and move above ground," I said.He bit his lip. "I know. We can't stay down here. But the heat outside is brutal. If we move up, we'll just burn alive instead."He lowered his head while he spoke, "I'm sorry, I can't give you a better life

Chapter 7

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Blazewing's puffed-up, angry face.My smile only made him angrier. "Don't ever go to her again! In our past life, you hatched me, but she stole me away! She tricked me into thinking she was you. I can't believe I wasted all that loyalty on her!""How do you even know I was the one who hatched you?" I asked."You sang to me while I was still in the egg. You were totally off-key. When I heard Raven sing, I knew right away she wasn't the real one. She sings too well. "After I realized that, I thought about sneaking off to find you and trading places with Snowviper, but then the heatwave apocalypse hit. I figured with his cooling powers, you might actually be happy with him. I never thought he'd treat you like that."I froze, embarrassed that he could hear me singing even before he hatched.Then the reality of it all sank in again—we were either going to drown or roast alive. I sighed. "I can't believe it. Even with a second chance at life, I sti

Chapter 8

Through the bronze mirror, I saw the floodwaters nearly reaching Raven's window.No wonder she was calling me. But still, she was the one begging for help, and she had the nerve to act all high and mighty.Her impatient voice rang out again. "Hey, why aren't you saying anything? I'm only agreeing to work with you because you're my sister. Don't be ungrateful."I gave her a mocking smile. "Oh, should I be thanking you, then?"She didn't catch the sarcasm at all. "Of course! I'm basically saving your life. Now grovel and beg me.""Forget it. Save that favor for someone else."I hung up on her with a sharp click.A second later, the phone rang again. I didn't want to answer, but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to hear what she'd come up with this time.On the other end, Raven put on her fake magnanimous act. "Fine. Since you're my sister, I'll lower my standards. You don't need to grovel anymore. Just come find me and Snowviper, and take us to the top of Mount Cashmoore."

Chapter 9

Snowviper's eyes flashed with a cruel gleam as his voice turned icy. "Guess I've been too nice to you. You've been living off my powers, and you still dare to hit me?"Instead of backing down, Raven only grew more hysterical."The only reason I let you drink my blood before was because your powers kept me alive. But look at you now—water's about to flood the whole house! What good are you to me anymore? I must've been blind to choose you. I would've been better off with that stupid phoenix!"Snowviper sneered. "Didn't you already choose that stupid phoenix in your last life? Tell me, how'd that work out for you?"Raven was struck silent, choking on her words.He tilted his head, smiling coldly. "Still, you reminded me of something. Just sitting here with you is a waste of time, don't you think?"A flicker of hope lit up Raven's eyes. "Are you saying you know a way out of here?"He gave a careless shrug. "With my ability, freezing this flood solid isn't exactly a challenge."Rav

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