Chapter Ten

Samara

Aryan was moving quickly through the forest in front of me. And while I could have kept up, I found it difficult. I just kept looking towards the remnants of my home, wanting desperately to put the flames out.

As I went by one tree to the next, I glanced around the trunk to find that the soldiers were already halfway up the path to the main road. They’re moving on… I glanced towards Aryan. Now’s my chance to put out the flames. I didn’t want to leave Aryan, but I just wasn’t prepared to go anywhere. Not until I could see what could be salvaged.

I veered off the path, trying my best to be silent in case Soren’s soldiers heard too much noise and decided to turn back around. And while I didn’t see or hear Soren’s men, I did hear Aryan hissing at me, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I didn’t even look at him as I kept my gaze strictly planted on my burning home. “I need to go back. For just… one last look.”

Aryan was so quiet, I thought for a moment that he had abandoned me. Just as I was about to turn my head, he sighed in a way that told me he was clearly frustrated, but also sympathetic. “Fine.” He grumbled. “Make it quick. We can’t stay here.”

By the time we made it to my home, the green flames were beginning to dwindle, but not quickly enough. Instantly, I thought about my newfound water abilities. I didn’t know how it worked, really, but that wasn’t going to stop me from attempting to put the fire out—a flame, I couldn’t help but notice, that resembled mine before it changed colors.

“There. You’ve seen it.” Aryan said with a rough edge to his tone. “Now let’s go in case Soren’s men decide to come back for a second look.”

Ignoring him, I exhaled, closing my eyes and thinking of rain. I waited and waited, hoping to hear the pitter-patter of raindrops. When I heard nothing, I opened my eyes to a very frustrated and confused Aryan.

His brows were pulled together in puzzlement, but his mouth was set in that perpetual scowl I oddly found endearing. “What the hell are you waiting for?”

Suddenly, I felt it! A single drop of rain that led to a downpour that covered the entire forest. I couldn’t help but smile at my companion as he put out his hand. The water slipped in-between his fingers, and for once, his face showed something other than content—shock.

He turned to me. “Did you do this?”

I didn’t answer as I half-ran into my home, the flames completely diminished now. But once I got inside, it really hit me that I no longer had anything. Not a single piece of clothing, not a page from a book, and not the blanket I had hand-stitched from scraps. Nothing.

Everything was burned to a crisp. The skeletal remains, of now, unidentifiable objects were all that was left that proved this was my home. That I was even here.

I have nothing. Truly nothing.

My body couldn’t help but crumble to the ground. I kneeled on the floor where my mini library should have been. Burned up pages coated the floors and shelves, not even the book covers were legible.

I held in tears as I sighed, a frown in place of where my smile was not a moment ago. A burned-up hole in the ceiling sprayed water everywhere, making me feel as if I was drowning. “I taught myself many things with these books. They were the closest thing to an education that I could get.” An unexpected sentimentality coated my words, and I couldn’t help but think back to all the memories I had generated here over the years.

“I—” Aryan stopped mid-sentence, unable to finish what he was saying.

I didn’t expect him to say anything truthfully, but the fact that he attempted was enough to warm my heart and make me stand. “I apologize for dragging you here.” I managed a smile in his direction. “I’m ready to go now. Please, lead the way.”

Please. I can’t stand a second more in this place. It was no longer anything, but a tomb of my old life.

Aryan hesitated for just a moment, but then, nodded his head. I followed as we exited the last remaining piece of my life in Curio.