What’s Left to Burn

Prologue

MIA

I ’ve seen him die a thousand times.

In my dreams, the air always smells like burning, acrid smoke curling around us, suffocating. The heat presses in, and there’s nothing I can do. It’s always the same. The explosion. The fire. And him—his body crumpling, his life slipping away, just out of my reach.

I can scream and I can cry, but nothing changes. The flames take him every time.

For as long as I can remember, this dream has haunted me. At first, it was just flashes—smoke, fire, the outline of a man I didn’t know. Over the years, the vision became clearer, more real. I could see the sweat on his brow and the desperation in his eyes. I could feel the panic in my chest, knowing that no matter how hard I tried to hold on to him, I would always lose.

It’s why I never let anyone get close. How could I? Whoever he was, he was out there somewhere, and he was destined to die. Loving him meant accepting that I would lose him.

Then I met him. Sage.

The first time our eyes met, my heart stopped. Not just because of a romantic connection, but because I knew. Deep down in my bones, I knew he was the man from my dreams. The one I’d spent my entire life running from. The man I was destined to love—and lose.

Every instinct in my body screamed at me to walk away. To protect myself. I couldn’t. It was like gravity pulled me toward him, even knowing how this story would end.

Because that’s the thing about fate. It doesn’t care if you’re ready. It doesn’t care if you’re strong enough to handle the heartbreak. Fate comes for you anyway, like fire, burning through everything you thought you knew.

And now? Now I’m standing at the edge, the flames licking at my feet, wondering how much longer I have before it all comes crashing down.

Before he’s gone.

Again.