CHAPTER 53
last update2024-12-12 20:35:31

Pain shot through Jace's body as he drifted between consciousness and the cold abyss of darkness. His limbs felt like they were made of lead, and a sharp ache radiated from every joint. His chest heaved, desperate for air, each breath shallow and jagged. The last thing he remembered was Aila’s light exploding in a brilliant collision with the lieutenant’s darkness, and then everything had gone black.

His eyes fluttered open, and the world came into focus in slow, agonizing fragments. The sky above him was a mottled canvas of storm clouds, roiling with an ominous gray hue. The scent of burnt earth and ash clung to the air. Around him, the ground was scorched and cracked, remnants of his unleashed fire still smoldering in fading blue embers.

He forced his aching body to move, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. His vision swam, but one thought burned through the haze.

Aila.

“Aila!” he rasped, his throat raw and dry. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out, and he crashed back to
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