Page 389 of Elemental Becoming

Every breath burns. Every cough tears through my chest.

But I’m breathing.

I’m here.

Alive.

Hands steady me. One presses against my back while another pulls my hair away from my face as I retch black water onto the scorched ground. It pours from my mouth in choking bursts, thick and bitter and wrong.

My body rattles with each cough. My arms tremble. Pain radiates through my chest and ribs until I think it might never stop.

Eventually, it begins to ease. The coughing fades. Air still scrapes through my lungs, but I can breathe again.

I drag in a shaky breath. Then another.

Water and ash cling to my skin. Every muscle aches. There is a deep throb in my injured arm. My heart hammers against my ribs.

But I’m still here.

And then I’m being pulled into an embrace. Strong arms wrap around me, holding me so tightly it feels as though letting go isn’t an option. I know who it is before I even lift my head.

Cedar.

Leather.

Thane.

The scent of home.

Of fire and strength and the person who has become the center of my world.

I bury my face against his chest, still gasping, still trembling. But safe. Anchored.

When I finally glance over his shoulder, still fighting to control my breathing, I find Rowena standing a few paces away.

She’s laughing. And crying at the same time.

Tears stream down her face, carving clean paths through the soot on her cheeks. She rocks backward and drops onto the ground as though her legs have finally decided they are finished.

“Fuck, Amara.”

The words burst out of Rowena like a sob wrapped inside a curse.

Then she’s on me.

Her hands cup my face, trembling as she presses kisses to my cheeks again and again.

“Gods, you stubborn thing,” she chokes out. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

A weak smile tugs at my mouth.

“I think . . . ” My voice is barely more than a whisper. “I like this better than the slapping.”

Rowena lets out a laugh that dissolves into another sob andpresses her forehead against mine, still holding my face as though she can’t quite believe I’m real.

Then I hear it.

Thane.