CASSIAN'S POV
Time slowed down.
Evangeline stood in the doorway, surrounded by armed guards. Sera's face went white with shock and betrayal. Mnemora's hands glowed silver, ready to fight. Ferris positioned himself protectively in front of Sera.
And I calculated our odds of survival.
Not good.
Twelve guards. All wearing enchanted armor that would block Mnemora's memory magic. Weapons designed specifically to counter fire magic—I recognized the ice-core blades from Malachai's personal arsenal. They'd come prepared to capture a Flameheart.
Which meant someone had warned them exactly where to find us.
"Evangeline," Sera whispered. "How could you?"
"How could I?" Evangeline laughed, cold and sharp. "You were supposed to die six months ago, Sera. Father spent a fortune making sure every Flameheart was eliminated. But you survived, and now you're going to ruin everything we've built."
"You mean everything you've stolen," I said, keeping my voice light and casual. "Murder, arson, theft of magical artifacts. Your father's been quite busy."
Evangeline's eyes narrowed at me. "Lord Vyredge. I should've known you'd be involved. Father always said you were more dangerous than you pretended to be."
"Did he?" I smiled. "How flattering."
"Take them all," Evangeline ordered the guards. "Father will decide what to do with the Mad Duke later."
The guards moved forward.
That's when everything went sideways.
Sera's hands erupted in flames—not the small fire from earlier, but a massive wall of heat that forced the guards backward. "You knew!" she screamed at Evangeline. "You knew they were going to burn Rosewick, and you said nothing!"
"Of course I knew!" Evangeline snapped. "I'm the one who confirmed you were there. Father needed to be sure before wasting resources on your pathetic little town."
The betrayal on Sera's face physically hurt to watch. Her fire blazed hotter, wild and uncontrolled.
"Sera, don't!" Mnemora shouted. "You'll bring the whole palace down!"
But Sera wasn't listening. She was drowning in rage and pain, and the fire responded to her emotions. Flames spread across the floor, up the walls, consuming everything.
The guards raised their ice-core weapons, but I was faster.
I pulled three small devices from my coat and threw them at the guards' feet. They exploded in bursts of thick purple smoke—the same kind Mnemora used, except mine was specially formulated to interfere with magical detection. The guards couldn't see through it, and their enchanted armor suddenly became useless.
"Ferris!" I yelled. "Clear a path!"
The metal knight didn't hesitate. He charged through the smoke, metal fists swinging. Guards flew backward, armor denting from the impact. Ferris might look gentle, but he hit like a battering ram.
"Mnemora, get Sera out of here!" I grabbed a guard's dropped weapon and tossed it aside. "I'll hold them off!"
"You'll die," Mnemora said flatly.
"Probably. But I'm good at not dying." I grinned. "Trust me."
She grabbed Sera's arm and pulled her toward the back hallway. Sera's fire was still raging, but Mnemora somehow managed to drag her through it without getting burned.
Evangeline screamed in frustration. "After them! Don't let the Flameheart escape!"
Half the guards chased Sera and Mnemora. The other half turned on me and Ferris.
Perfect. Exactly what I wanted.
I pulled out my favorite invention—a small metal sphere that looked harmless but was actually quite devastating. I pressed the button on top and rolled it toward the guards.
"You might want to close your eyes," I told Ferris cheerfully.
The sphere exploded in a flash of brilliant white light. The guards screamed, temporarily blinded. I used the distraction to run past them, Ferris clanking along behind me.
We caught up to Mnemora and Sera in the portal room. Mnemora was trying to open an escape route, but her hands were shaking. The portal kept flickering and failing.
"They're blocking it somehow," she gasped. "Malachai must have given them anti-magic devices."
"Then we fight," Ferris said simply, raising his metal fists.
"No." I grabbed Mnemora's shoulder. "Open a portal to my manor. They won't expect that."
"Your manor? That's the first place they'll look!"
"Exactly. Which is why they won't look there first." I winked. "Trust me. I have defenses they don't know about."
Mnemora hesitated, then nodded. The portal shimmered to life, showing a glimpse of my library on the other side.
Guards burst into the room behind us.
"Go!" I shoved Sera toward the portal. She stumbled through, still crying, still burning with uncontrolled fire. Mnemora followed. Ferris went next.
I turned to face the guards, giving my friends time to escape.
Evangeline pushed through her soldiers, fury twisting her pretty face. "You're a fool, Vyredge. You can't protect her. Father will hunt her down, just like he hunted down every other Flameheart."
"Maybe," I said. "But first he'll have to deal with me. And I'm much harder to kill than I look."
I jumped backward through the portal.
It snapped shut just as Evangeline lunged forward.
We crashed into my manor's library. Sera collapsed on the floor, gasping. Her fire had finally gone out, leaving her shaking and pale. Mnemora immediately went to her, checking for injuries.
Ferris stood guard at the door.
And I activated my manor's defenses. Hidden mechanisms clicked to life. Steel shutters slammed down over windows. Magical wards—ones I'd designed myself—hummed to life around the building.
"We're safe," I said. "For now."
"For now?" Sera looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. "Evangeline betrayed me. She's the one who told them I was in Rosewick. She's the reason everyone died."
My chest tightened. I knew that kind of betrayal. My own trusted friend had stolen my inventions and given them to Malachai.
"I know," I said quietly. "And we'll make her pay. But first, you need to learn to control your fire before it controls you."
"I can't." Sera's voice broke. "Every time I use it, I see them burning. My parents. My brother. Everyone."
"Then we'll teach you to see something else." I knelt beside her. "Fire doesn't have to mean destruction. It can mean protection. Warmth. Hope. You just have to choose what it represents."
Before Sera could respond, every ward in my manor suddenly screamed an alarm.
Impossible. My defenses should hold for hours.
I ran to the window and looked out.
My blood turned to ice.
The entire street was filled with soldiers. Hundreds of them. And leading them was Duke Malachai himself, dressed in black armor, his face cold and merciless.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Standing next to Malachai was someone I recognized. Someone who'd been dead for seven years.
My sister.
Alive.
She looked at my window and smiled.