Slowburn Mga Nobela at Kwento

Chapter 85: Borrowed Time The scent of burning wood and resin lingered in the cold air, sharp and acrid, as Luca and Ethan raced down the slope away from the Old Sawmill. Smoke curled behind them, twisting with the wind, marking the inferno they had left in their wake. For a brief moment, the fire had bought them precious minutes, but it had also broadcast their presence to any observer with eyes in the valley.

We had also eaten dinner here in our previous life—but just as the dishes were served, Jared lured us away, tied us up, and pushed us off a cliff. Michael ordered the same dishes as last time. He asked with a smile, "Do you have the guts to eat these dishes again?" I nodded resolutely. My cold body warmed up after the meal. When I pulled out my phone, I saw more than 100 missed calls from Jared and his team members. I didn't feel like calling them, so I opened Instagram and found out that he had unblocked me. "Kaitlyn, where on earth did you go? Mom's dead! Why didn't you tell me?"

I took Ava and ran. We had seconds. Fire alarms screamed. Men shouted. The house went into a frenzy, and in that chaos we found the service exit we needed. Metal clanged. Feet pounded. I shoved Ava into the car and slammed the door. The engine roared. The shadow in the doorway watched us leave. Isabella lay on the floor, the files scattered like a cemetery. She looked up. The bullet had not killed her. It had cut deep. Her eyes were steady now. “Burn it,” she told me, voice thin. “Burn it all.”

She gestured to the first symbol: a flame that flickered real fire. 1. Ignisar – God of Fire Bloodline Name: Ignisborn Traits: volatile tempers, enhanced strength, fire conjuration, immunity to flame Signature Magic: combustion spells, wildfire manipulation, soul-heat channeling Trial Weakness: cannot survive underwater realms without aid Whispers filled the room. I scribbled in my notebook so fast my hand cramped. “Many godbloods,” the professor continued, “live unaware of their lineage. But don’t fret.” She offered a knowing smile. “In your third week here, you’ll undergo a blood test to determine your divine origin. The truth will reveal itself, whether you’re ready or not.”

No mercy. Only fire.

I was panting, my chest heaving erratically under the coarse, oversized mercenary coat as my lungs burned for oxygen, desperately trying to purge the phantom scent of ancient sulfur, burning stone, and metallic blood. A cold, thick sweat slicked my neck, mixing with the foul, burning wolfsbane paste I had smeared across my skin. The toxic sludge stung like liquid fire against my flesh, raising tiny, painful blisters along the old ley-line burns near my collarbones, but that physical burning was nothing compared to the apocalyptic heat still searing the back of my retinas.

This outcome was inevitable. As it finished speaking, the temperature spiked. The hail and snow covering the ground melted away, silently marking the end of the old world. The air turned so hot that it was hard to breathe, like the whole world had been sealed inside a furnace, cooking the people trapped inside. Trees erupted into flames, floodwaters surged across the ground beneath them, and steam filled the air. For a moment, the crowd went still, then the panic broke again. The ground groaned and split. "The world's ending! Queen Charlotte, please come back and save us!"

I skimmed the text, my eyes darting from line to line, trying to make sense of it. *Project Inferno— Weaponization of Wildfires.* My breath caught in my throat. Weaponization? what the actual hell...? I flipped through the pages, my pulse quickening as the details unfolded before me.