"burn Those Who Burned Me!" Novels & Stories

I knew we couldn't erase the abuse they'd endured, but I'd be damned if we let it continue. King Cian raised both arms, an arc of fire dancing between his palms. "We will burn the rot from this place." He flung his hands forward, the fire rolling from them in a wave, crashing over the convicted with no mercy. Beta George was the first to be hit; the force of the flames knocked him prone even as his clothes ignited. High-pitched screams pierced the air, finally fading as the fire died and left nothing but ash behind.

Even if I did try, it would only relive the hurt and the pain that we went through together. I still hadn’t forgiven him for what happened to us. I still carried that grudge for all that was worth and I don’t know when I would ever get past it. "Cool. Is he old and decaying?" I joked. She laughed with a shake with her head."No, he's young. And hot." I cocked my eyebrows. Hot? Really now."Hotter than me?" She rolled her eyes."Gah. Boys and their hotness." "PANDORA! WHERE THE FREAKING HELL ARE YOU?!" someone screeched from the top of their lungs. God, that was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

"Even in death, you're still trying to steal my man? Clearly, skinning you and blowing you up wasn't cruel enough." "Go to hell with your little bastard!" I shut my eyes and calmed myself. Quietly, I preserved every text and waited—for the storm that was sure to come.

A beat dropped through the speakers, and before I could run or throw myself out the window again, Kai grabbed the remote mic and started belting: "You are… my fire..." His voice cracked. Horribly. I burst out laughing so hard I nearly fell off the couch. “Oh my God, stop! You sound like a dying goat.” He pointed the mic at me. “Join me or suffer eternal shame.” “Im already suffering eternal shame!” But I was laughing too hard to say no. So I grabbed another remote from the coffee table and stood up dramatically. "Tell me why" I screeched, totally off-key.

In the end, I couldn't take it anymore and rushed into the fire department with a bouquet of roses. I yelled into the megaphone, "Jared, I like you! Marry me! I'll keep standing here until you come out and meet me!" After a long time, he finally came out, surrounded by his team members. He walked up to me and accepted the bouquet of roses, but he rejected me. "I appreciate your feelings, but I can't marry you." I asked him tearfully, "Why? Do you not like me at all?" "No." "Then, why? Tell me! At least give me a reason!"

“So you burn with what you loved.” When I opened my eyes, I was back on the floor of our burning den. This time, I pressed wet moss to my muzzle and dialed the public emergency channel. Let him choose her again. But in front of everyone. The roof beam fell at minute three. Wood cracked across my shoulder—bone snapped, I screamed, smoke swallowed the sound. Another beam caught my thighs. Blood pooled fast, soaking the nest I’d built for her. My daughter—still safe in my womb, five months along—kicked once, weak, then went still.

he had said once, his voice cold and harsh, “do you know what it feels like to burn alive? I’ll make you suffer ten times what Chiara did.” This time, I would not be trapped. I would survive, and I would stay far away from him. Yet even now, not a single one of the men around me offered aid. Blood pooled beneath my knees. My voice cracked as I whispered through dry lips, “Save my baby… please.” A junior enforcer glanced at me, smirked, and nudged my leg with his boot. “Relax. Everyone knows your history with Chiara. The crew has this under control. Stop playing to the crowd.”

But they’ve only shown me the truth: Some fires don’t burn brighter when fed. They burn deeper. And I am never burning out. I am just getting started. Let the Hollow come. I’ll meet it with every breath I have left.

Please make your choice. The prompt came again. I closed my eyes and made up my mind. "I'm going home." There was nothing left here worth staying for, no one left worth saving. [Exchange complete. Passage home will now open.] As the words settled, the sky shifted. A crimson glow spread overhead as the earth began to tremble, a deep rumble rolling beneath our feet. "It's a sign from the heavens!" The crowd erupted in celebration. People cheered, pointed at the sky, and praised what they believed was a blessing.

My voice broke as I whispered, “You’re mine. Not theirs. Mine.” The flames answered with a roar. And the ruins shook, as though the stones themselves remembered what it meant to burn.