Isolated [Degenerate Series, Book 2][Blackfrost]

Chapter 8

Something was unsettling.

I wasn't sure if it was the strange dream I had just woken up from or not, but I felt a ripple of chills along my spine. I sat up in bed; the covers tumbled away from my torso and into my lap.

I looked around the giant room; my eyes scanned the walls. I felt like something was watching me. From where I sat in the darkness, I could see my helmet sitting upon the coffee table beside the couches and the fireplace.

The stairs that led up to the bathroom were empty and cold. Nothing was in my room, and yet something was very, very wrong.

I climbed out of my silken, golden sheets. My feet touched the cold and golden floor. I crept to the end of the bed and pulled my nightshirt over my head. I moved back to the bedside table to pick up my knife while I cautiously scanned the room again.

Swallowing nervously, I moved to the door. Yes, something was wrong. I could now feel heat moving from my face and down my neck, warming my whole body in an uncomfortable way.

I touched the handle of the door and immediately jerked away with a hiss of pain. The handle was as hot. Really hot. My heart started hammering in my chest. Oh no.

I looked down at my fingers where I had touched the handle. Already, serious burns had formed, scorching my skin in an unnatural way because of my frost giant heritage. I clenched my teeth, trying to think in a calculated way despite my panic.

The only explanation I could think of was that the castle was on fire. Part of my mind doubted the idea because the castle was made of gold, but I knew that if magic was being used, it was very possible.

The next thing I thought of was that going into the hallway was an almost impossible option for me. The fire would kill me far faster than everyone else in the castle.

That's when my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach with dread. Everyone was in the castle now. Sif's plan had moved all of the civilians into the lower floors to ensure that the Asgardian guards that remained were defending the castle. Clearly, something had gone over their heads.'

I was panicking, and my room was only becoming hotter. I rushed over to the balcony doors and opened them. The outside was quiet. Far below me I could see the gardens. I knew the jump was too high and it would likely kill me just as surely as the fire would.

My heart hammering in my chest, I did the only logical thing I could think of. I pocketed my knife and rushed into the bathroom where I soaked as many towels as I could in water. I strung them over my shoulder and made my way back down the stairs.

Panic threatened to freeze my muscles. Everything in me just wanted to climb back into my bed and not have to face what was on the other side of that door.

Still, using one of the soaked towels as a glove, I opened the door. The heat and pressure nearly blasted me off my feet. Heat washed over my entire body. Tears stung in my eyes as cloudy smoke filled their sockets. My nose stinging, I wrapped one of the towels around my head, protecting my face from the heat.

The fire was framing the doorway, trapping me in. Heart hammering, I leaped through the wall of flames and into more of the blaze. Over the crackling of the magical fire, I could hear screams and wails echoing down the golden, ruined hallways.

I ran towards the stairs, hoping they weren't too blocked off. The farther I ran, the hotter it got. Every part of my body was scorching; my lungs were burning; my eyes were stinging.

I had to get outside.

It was when I reached the stairs that I realized the towel was nearly dry. I could smell the acrid stench of burning wool right next to my nose. I instinctively dropped the towels and kept running. Panic pulsed through my veins as my body was fueled by pure adrenaline.