Chapter 34 #2
“Okay good,” Rain said calmly. “Acknowledge that feeling. Don’t feed it. Watch it.”
He guided her through the exercise again; the red orb in her chest, pulsing with her heartbeat, shrinking with each slow breath. She followed surprisingly well.
“Perfect. You’re a fast learner. What do you even need me for?” he teased lightly.
She almost smiled.
“There are things outside this room that will overwhelm you,” he continued. “But I will keep you safe. Nobody wants to hurt you.”
Her energy steadied.
“Unfortunately, there were casualties among the guardians,” Rain said gently. “They wanted to keep you locked away. I couldn’t allow that.”
“You… you mean they are dead?”
Her voice cracked.
Her chest flared, sending out a burst of flame.
Rain soothed her instantly.
“Lyla? Is she gone?”
“Lyla is one of the guardians?”
She nodded frantically.
“There is a woman among the survivors. But Scarlet, we need to leave. Your only job is to stay calm. I’ll handle everything else. Can you do that?”
She nodded again, slower this time.
Rain took her hand and guided her downstairs toward the exit. She almost recoiled at the threshold, fear clawing at her as she faced the world beyond her prison.
Rain paused.
“I’m going to warn my soldiers about your ability, okay? You keep focusing on that glowing orb.”
“Okay,” she whispered, chewing her lip.
“Captain!” Rain called.
“Here, Your Highness.”
“I have Princess Scarlet of the Red Kingdom. She’s as magnificent as we imagined. But she has little control over her power; she’s Pyro-forged. Everyone needs to keep a healthy distance. Preferably behind her. Fire releases from her chest.”
“A princess?” Short gasped. The others murmured in shock.
“Yep. Princess Scarlet. Drazier locked his daughter in a tower.”
Scarlet’s flame flickered violently at the mention of her father.
“Step back, Short!”
Rain shielded the doorway until the flare died. Scarlet panted, panic rising again. She spun, trying to flee back up the stairs.
“It’s okay, don’t panic—”
She didn’t listen. She scrambled upward. Rain followed, using his power to stop her retreat.
“Scarlet, stop. You cannot live like this. Remember what we practised. Deep breaths. You can control it. I’ll help you.”
“What if I kill your friends?” she whispered.
“You won’t. You can’t. I won’t allow it.”
His voice was firm, grounding.
“Come on. It’ll be dark soon. We have a long way to go.”
She swallowed hard, clutching her figurine. Rain offered his hand again.
“Would you like to hold my hand?”
She nodded, wide-eyed.
He guided her out into the evening air. She winced as her bare foot struck a loose rock. Rain absorbed the pain instantly, not wanting it to trigger a flare.
“Renn, find the princess some shoes. Vass; water and food.”
Scarlet clung to Rain’s hand, bewildered, toes curling into the dirt. Her energy trembled between fear and wonder; the first taste of freedom nudging at her core.
A loud bang rattled the window of tower one.
Scarlet gasped.
“My sisters!”
She grabbed Rain’s singed shirt, flames flickering with her panic.
“You have to save them!”
She released another burst of fire. Rain spun her away, letting the flames shoot harmlessly across the empty field. Her body sagged into his arms as the flare died.
“Please,” she whimpered.
“Your Highness, we can’t—” Short began, but Rain wasn’t listening.
“What powers do they have, Scarlet?” he asked, turning her gently toward him.
Hope lit in her eyes. She threw her arms awkwardly around his waist.
“Thank you… thank you… thank you.”
Tears finally brimmed.
“I don’t know my little sisters,” she admitted. “I never met them. But Lyla told me Briar is like me but different. Her fire comes out like ropes. It hurts for a long time; everybody is scared of her. Just like me. Ember she is … I don’t know.”
She looked toward the window, voice breaking.
“But Rose… sweet Rose… her power is in the head. She makes you feel loved. And sometimes bad want. People want more from her.”
“That explains her guardians,” Rain muttered under his breath. Rose’s power; the ability to bend affection, desire, obsession, would make any king paranoid enough to cage her.
He turned back to Scarlet.
“Right. I’ll get them out. But I need you to sit here and eat, facing that direction.” He pointed toward the open field. “If the flames come, let them burn across the ground. Please don’t put my squad in danger.”
“I promise!” she vowed, gratitude swirling through her aura like warm embers.
Rain nodded once and strode toward the first tower. Short followed at his heels, tension radiating off her like static.
“Short,” Rain said as he reached the metal door, twisting toward her. “I know how you feel about this. I understand your reasoning. And I respect it.”
His voice softened, but the steel beneath it was unmistakable.
“There is no way I can walk away knowing innocents are locked away in these towers. They’re not criminals. They’re like me; Powerful and misunderstood and discarded by their pathetic father. Treated worse than animals.”
Short’s jaw tightened. She looked at him, really looked, recalibrating her stance. He wasn’t asking for permission. He was informing her of his intent.
He was going to do this with or without her support.
“Okay, Royale,” she said finally, exhaling through her nose. “I just hope you know what you’re doing. Kidnapping one princess across the border is risky. Four? The fallout is going to be massive.”
“Rescuing, Captain,” Rain corrected, voice low and resolute. “Not kidnapping.”
He didn’t wait for her reply.
He pried the door open and began his climb.