Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

62. Burning

AIDEN

Flames licked the walls of the room and swept across the ceiling. The billowing plumes darkened to sooty black as the whole building began to burn down- everything around us was charring, darkening, causing ash to float around the room.

The crackle of the flame and the creaks and groans of the contracting timber were the only sounds that could be heard once Riley and Markolf disappeared into thin air. I was relieved that our mate was away from this inferno, but knowing she was with Markolf made me want to roar again.

With the cambion gone, Rafe and I finally had control over our bodies again. We were both bloody and bruised from our fight, and with my dragon and his wolf still under the effects of the warlock's potion, neither of us could shift to heal faster nor to protect ourselves from the blaze. Fire dragons were normally not affected by flames, yet I wasn't sure whether that was still the case with Blaze being out.

I turned around to my best friend- he looked in bad shape, just like me. We were both starting to struggle to breathe- the taste of ash heavy in my mouth- and the temperature was becoming intolerable.

"We need to get out of here, Rafe, or the fire might achieve what Markolf didn't," I shouted, drawing his attention.

The rumbling sound above us made me look up, and I realised that we had very little time before the ceiling caved in. There was nowhere really to take cover, nor any windows to escape through. If we stayed trapped in the fighting pit, we were definitely going to perish.

"The door on the other side," Rafe pointed, "it's the only way out".

Shit, he was right but the problem was that the door was on the opposite end of the room, and we did not really have much time left.

"Sprint for it and let's hope for the best on the other side," I said and we both began to run.

We were just feet away from it when a loud bang echoed around us as the ceiling collapsed. Panic surged through my body while I watched burning debris fall and land on my best friend. Before I could rush to help him, something hot and heavy landed on me, trapping me beneath it.

A growl tried to escape my throat as I lay there on the floor unable to move, forced to watch as the flames engulfed Rafe. Then the whole world went black...

***

The smell of smoke and soot permeated my lungs. Gradually I opened my eyes and found myself face down on the gritty, sandy floor. It took me a minute to figure out where I was and what was going on.

I was unsure how long I had been out for but the whole building had burned down to the ground by now. The only thing left was the scorched debris. My mind was still slightly disoriented, but I regained clarity quickly enough to realise that I was lucky to be alive, seeing as Blaze was still out of order. The fire had not harmed me despite my missing dragon and I was relieved that this real-life testing of my abilities worked out in my favour.

The wooden pillar that had crashed on top of me after it fell from the ceiling had been reduced to ashes, so I was able to get up slowly. As I looked around, my memories of what happened before I lost consciousness started coming back to me- Markolf, Riley, Rafe...

Oh, fuck- Rafe! The last time I saw him, he was trapped under the flaming timber, just like I had been. But Rafe was a wolf shifter and they stood no chance against fire.

I suddenly couldn't breathe once more. My heart was racing as my mind was overcome with panic once again.

No, no, no, no....this can't be happening!