A Court of Magnolias and Ash

Eight

Nesta:

"Is she alright? Is she alive?!" Cassian roared over the erupting flames.

I blinked several times, unsure of the commotion. Ash coated my pale skin, the bed beneath me—gone. Amber vines of fire retreated to the center point of my heart; steam rising as I touched a wet spot on the floor.

Cassian's pail of water doused the burning window across from me, he sprinted to the bathing room and ran back out. "Rhysand!?" he yelled. Another bucket full of water flung to the window. The same window I had seen him stand next to in my dream.

"She'll live, Cassian," Rhysand hollered back, his focus on the spreading flames towards the hallway.

The smell of burnt skin filled my nostrils, my stomach churned. I panicked, thinking he was talking about Feyre, about Elain. Through flames and smoke, I searched for my sisters. For lifeless, smoldered bodies.

The fire surrounded us, eating away the walls and remaining fabrics. The charred door had been kicked in, thrown to the side in pieces.

Shakily, I stood, scanning the room only to see Feyre, Rhysand and Cassian remaining.

"Nesta," Cassian dropped the bucket, rushing to my side. He slammed his body into mine, holding me to his solid chest. "You're alive," he whispered into my ear, nuzzling me with his nose. His touch scorched me, sending my pulse into a frenzy at the warmth of his golden-brown skin.

"Is Elain...? Are they...?" I stuttered, trying to reach for any strength I had bottled within.

Cassian's body wove around mine, my trembling hands reached to his spine, unable to clasp around his muscular torso. I nearly touched his wings as I dug my fists into his back. If I no longer had the strength, then maybe he would loan me some of his.

His lips grazed against the rim of my ear, "everyone is safe." I nearly convulsed on the spot, relief washed through me. "You're safe," he whispered.

Feyre and Rhysand continued to work on the inferno, their focus impenetrable. I pulled away from Cassian, the sudden shock of what happened started to wear off as the flames died down. I could only see his fearful expression through the cloud of smoke. He feared me.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Cassian held my shoulders, frantically examining every inch of me.

"I...I..." for the life of me, I couldn't speak. His amber eyes burned into mine. It was a dream, I just had a dream and this—this was a nightmare. It had to be. I need to wake up. Wake up, wake up.

"I think she's more than alright," Rhysand quipped, receiving an elbow to the gut from Feyre. They continued to focus on clearing the smoke out of the room. Feyre pulled air from the broken window, helping to push out the remaining mass of smoke.

I ignored Rhysand's comment. Instead I looked down Cassian's body, from his scuffed boots, ripped and burned clothing, all the way up to his tightened grip on my shoulders.

"Your hands..." I replied breathlessly. The damaged organ within plummeted at the sight of them.

Cassian pulled his burnt and bloodied palms away from me, leaving a scarlet mess behind.

The churning continued, bile threatening to expel out of me. "I...I did that," I focused on the sticky wetness that stained my shoulders.

"It's nothing," Cassian lied, shoving his hands behind his back, letting his membranous wings hide them further as I tried to peer around him.

"You and I both know when you're lying," I snapped, trying to pry his arms towards me.

Cassian didn't budge, his body stiffened as I accidentally brushed my fingers against his velvety scarred wing.