The ground beneath them heaved, sending them to their knees. Instantly, the bugs converged, swarming over them, biting, clawing and skittering over the top of each other until the three of them were covered.
Lorelai shuddered and lost her grip on Kol. Flinging her arms out, she swept at the creatures crawling toward her face and then fell forward as another wave of enormous beetles gushed from the ground and raced up her body.
Pain lit into her in tiny, jagged pieces as pinchers and fangs tore at her skin. Dimly, she heard Gabril cry out, but the whisper-hiss of hundreds of legs scrambling over the dirt, over her clothes, over her drowned out everything else.
They were tangled in her hair. Clawing at her stomach. Crawling up her neck toward her mouth.
She pressed her lips closed and struggled to find her footing amid the piles of slippery bodies that covered every inch of the trembling ground.
I’ve got you. Kol’s hand found hers, and together they pulled themselves to their feet. Gabril was doubled over at the waist beside them, frantically trying to dislodge centipedes from his neck and back.
The ground beneath them was disappearing rapidly. If Lorelai didn’t act now, they would be buried alive and then consumed.
Kol’s hand gripped hers, and magic stung her palm. “Kaz`zhech. Bring his fire into me and punish those who harm us.”
Violent heat surged through Kol’s veins and into hers. She screamed as it gathered in her chest, a molten ball of fury and destruction that felt like it was turning her blood to vapor and her bones to dust.
Burn them, Kol shouted as he raised their joined hands where the white light of her magic had become a flame of orange and yellow that leaped toward the swarm at their feet. She raised her other hand, sucked in a breath that felt like razors against the heat inside her chest, and yelled, “Kaz`zhech! Punish them with fire.”
Flames shot from her palms and scorched the ground, latching on to the brittle grass and sweeping outward in a blaze of orange with brilliant white at the center. The heat seared her from the inside out, and she shook, desperately holding on to the terrible strength of Kol’s dragon heart as she turned to strafe the entire circle around them with fire.
Insects scrambled away from the flames but then curled up and turned to ash as the fire caught them. The scent of roasted bugs—bitter and pungent—hung heavy in the air, stinging Lorelai’s eyes.
Her legs trembled, her teeth chattered, and every part of her body throbbed as the dragon’s fire scalded her. The heat was a monstrous presence pushing, pushing, pushing against her chest until she could barely breathe. Until she thought her skin would split, and her bones crumble. She tried to keep her hands raised, but spots were dancing at the edge of her vision, and her muscles had lost their strength.
Kol let go of her hand and gently lowered her to ground, though she could hear the collar whispering hurt, punish, kill while his dragon heart begged for more violence.
“You did it,” Gabril said quietly as he crushed one last twitching spider beneath his boot. The field surrounding them was a smoking pit of insect carcasses and burned grass, but the fire, once it had finished the task Lorelai set before it, had extinguished itself.
The awful heat of Kol’s dragon’s fire seeped out of her, and she drew a breath of the pungent, smoky air. The pain was gone. She was still awake. Kol was still in control. And Irina had once again weakened herself without winning the fight.
Are you okay? Kol asked as he knelt beside her.
She was better than okay. Triumph was a radiant light blazing within her. She threw her arms around Kol and laughed.
We did it. She lost again. And now she’s weaker, the road is destroyed, and we’re one step closer to finishing this.
His arms came around her and pulled her close for a moment, his heartbeat a wild cadence beneath her ear. We make a good team.
The warmth behind his words made Lorelai suddenly, excruciatingly aware that she’d thrown herself against him. That she was still holding him. That her heart was beating as wildly as his.
She dropped her arms and got to her feet on legs that still shook. I’m . . . sorry? Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to . . . That was great. Really great.
What was she doing? Had she lost her mind? She looked at Gabril’s face, his brow raised at the two of them as Kol climbed to his feet. Thank heavens the starlight didn’t show the blush that was heating her cheeks.
I’ll pretend I don’t know about it, then. Kol sounded amused.
It was just . . . You know what? I don’t want to talk about it.
He grinned at her, the stars gilding his red-brown hair with silver. Why not? It’s kind of . . . fetching.
She rolled her eyes. Come on. Let’s get out of here in case Irina recovers fast enough to send something else after us. She hurried to catch up to Gabril, who was nearly at the edge of the Hinderlinde Forest, feeling the warmth of Kol’s affectionate amusement behind her and the heat that still lingered in her cheeks.
THIRTY-ONE