Page 288 of Caged

“Let’s go,” Vae mutters. He’s so close I can feel the heat radiating off his bare chest at my back. Or maybe it’s coming from me.

“The faster you answer our questions, the faster we can get this over with.”

He sounds resigned. His tone is full of something that sounds an awful lot like disappointment.

What does he have to be disappointed about? I’m the one whose heart’s been cracked open. I’m the one who’s been beaten down, ground into nothing, and rejected. All they’ve had to do is stand there, utterly unaware of the pain gnawing and eating away at my insides.

I never stood a fucking chance.

I meet Vae’s gaze briefly before turning my attention back to the wall sconce.

There are so many sconces, all down the hallway. I remember the first day I was brought here and how I thought it was such an odd design choice. So old-fashioned and unnecessary.

But now, as I study the flame, I realize that it isn’t odd at all.

The fire belongs here. It trembles steadily, oblivious to the fact that someone is watching. It isn’t big enough. It isn’t bright enough.

Not yet.

It should be larger. Large enough to burn through all the pain and betrayal, the hurt and lies. Large enough that these Alphas can’t ignore it anymore. It should be an inferno. One that consumes everything until all that’s left in its wake is ash.

The flame flickers once, almost like it hears me.

Then it roars to life.

A column of fire at least five feet tall shoots straight up the wall, so powerful it makes the air shimmer and warp. Dax curses, and Vae scrambles back, but I don’t move.

Next to me, another sconce ignites. Then another. Until each one is flaring hotter and higher than the last, flames skittering all the way down the hall.

“Get back, Idril!” Vae lunges for my shoulder, but I easily step out of reach. Not away from the fire, but toward it. Toward the warmth, the heat, and the flames roaring three feet up the wall that mirror the flame in my chest. I can’t look away, and as I stand here watching the blaze surge even higher, I understand, with a detached sort of numbness, that I could burn this entire place down right now if I wanted.

For the first time since I stepped foot in this nightmare, I feel peace in the chaos around me. Whatever this is, it’s not bad. It’s not wrong. It’s⁠—

Mine.

The realization has my spine straightening.

How has it taken me so long to figure out? How am I only just now recognizing the tether between me and the flame?

For the first time in my life, I have something that is completely my own.

Something powerful. Something dangerous.

The flames slowly shrink back to their normal size, and hesitantly, I turn to face the Alphas. Dax is staring at me with wide eyes and a look I’ve never seen before. He looks afraid.

No, not simply afraid.

Terrified.

“Where would you like to speak?” I ask calmly, clasping my hands tightly in front of me.

Dax takes a wary step back. His eyes flick to the library doors, then away just as quickly.

I almost smile.

No, I suppose he wouldn’t want me around his books. Not with the way fire is reacting.

This is all surreal. Like it’s happening to someone else. Like I’m outside my body, watching the entire interaction play out like a skit.