Flame in the Ashes

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"Are you sure she's dead?" Zhagayah faintly heard an unfamiliar voice ask as she slowly began to regain consciousness. Her burnt lids made it impossible to open her eyes—or what was left of it.

She couldn't feel or smell anything.

"Sure, looks like it," a voice said with a high tone of boredom. "I mean, who could survive that?" Something hard pushed against her burnt skin, making her pain return.

"True though," the other agreed, and it remained quiet for what felt like an eternity. "It was a sight to see though." One laughed humorlessly—sounding quite uneasy.

"Right?" The other readily agreed, sounding more at ease than his fellow. "I would have been pissed if I had missed it. The damn witch was acting above her status, attacked and killed soldiers, but now she's burnt to ash."

"I totally agree." The other was quick to state. "Those damn blue eyes and hair color gave me the chills." He audibly shuddered at the remembrance

An uncomfortable groan suddenly escaped Zhagayah's lips as she felt the pain starting to return rapidly.

"Damn it," One of them growled, "she really must be a witch if she survived that."

"I don't think she's alive, though. It's probably just muscle memory, her body just making sound." The other suggested as they pushed what Zhagayah could only assume was a stick at her rigid body again. It seemed they were hoping to get a movement from her.

"Let's throw her from that cliff just to be sure," the first guard suggested nonchalantly. "Nobody has ever survived that fall. If the fire didn't take care of her, that will."

"Yes, that's a good idea."

"Yeah, let's do it,"

Not long after, Zhagayah felt herself being lifted and carried by them. She couldn't move or feel much of her body, but the way the wind blew harshly against her damaged skin made her skin feel...different.

"Good riddance!"

Was the last thing she managed to hear before feeling like she was falling from a mountain in a bad, ridiculous dream.

The universe must have had a little pity on her as she chose that moment to blackout.

Stirring awake after what felt like a lifetime, Zhagayah slowly regained consciousness. She lay on the forest floor, immobile from her burns and the fall. Her eyes stung with pain, and her fingers shook among the gibberish on the floor.

Her body felt like a withered leaf, but her heart felt deserted, and no physical pain could compare to the emotional one threatening to tear her apart.

She hadn't expected to feel any pain when her mate had rejected her, but her heart ached terribly. How she could be overwhelmed with so much pain for someone she had never even spoken to was beyond her.

The only pain she thought she was allowed to feel was that of her sister's death.

Her sister.

The thought of her created an ache far more terrible in the depths of her heart.

She wished she'd just die already, but maybe this was her punishment for killing her beloved sister.

She had been such a grumpy big sister to her, never sharing in the fun things she did. Now, she regretted never spending more time with Halena. She regretted spending her time trying to make more money.

If she were to die now, she knew exactly where she'd be headed.

She didn’t deserve to be sent to the goddess's blossom but to the deepest part of hell.

Would her sister ever forgive her?

Halena had protected her from the prying eyes of the Town folks all through her life.

Zhagayah was very different in appearance as she had blue eyes and brown hair with some locks of gold.

People didn't like her, so although they were curious, they were also weary of her, and some of them thought her a witch.

Halena had defended her at any given chance, assuring her that she'd never had to be alone. Now, she’d killed the only supporter and protector she had in the world.

She was a monster, and she deserved to die.

"So thirsty." Zhagayah groaned, not even able to recognize her voice anymore.

After all this time, Zhagayah finally broke down in tears. Even her tears hurt her burnt flesh, but that didn't stop her from crying.

She wished she'd die so she could apologize to Halena and beg for her forgiveness.

Talking was a struggle, but strangely enough, her body no longer felt so sour.

'I'm so sorry.' Zhagayah thought to herself as more peppery tears flowed down her sore cheeks.

'Just let me die already.' she wasn't sure who she was begging anymore, but she just wanted it all over.

Her heart was damaged beyond recovery. She knew that much.

She had lost everything and everyone. Her parents had been the first to die, and Zhagayah suddenly began to believe the tales some of the town's people used to tell.

They had said it was because she was a cursed child, and it was when she was born that the evil Alpha killed the Alpha King and took over the throne-- subjecting everyone to a life of poverty and s*****y.

When her parents finally died, they said the curse had led them to their deaths. Now, the thought didn't seem appalling as it once seemed to Zhagayah.

She had to have been cursed to have killed her sister in such a brutal and terrible manner.

Yes, she could say she didn't even know what she was doing, but she had let her rage consume her and transform her into a monster.

Feeling a deep sense of fatigue wash over her, she closed her eyes to sleep, hoping she wouldn't wake up again.

But the universe had a twisted sense of humor as she was pulled awake by the sound of voices really close to her face.

"I wonder what happened to her," one said.

"To die such a painful death, she must have done something really terrible." The other answered.

"Or maybe the people are just truly barbaric. Can tell that she was probably but a child." The first said solemnly.

"Help. Please. Thirsty." Zhagayah suddenly heard herself say. It must have been her sense of survival calling for help.

"Please," she tried to stop herself, but it seemed her body had forsaken her mind and was calling for help.

She heard gasps and shifting. Suddenly, the voices seemed even closer.

"She's alive?" One of them said in disbelief.

There was a long pause before they spoke again. "Las, if you can hear me, move your finger." Her finger, of course, moved, and they gasped again.

"We have to help her." One of them finally said

"But the Alpha. Would he appreciate bringing a stranger into his territory?" The other asked.

"She might not even survive it, so it doesn't really matter." The other reasoned, and this greatly confused Zhagayah as, as far as she knew, there was only one Alpha.

"We can't just leave her here. My conscience cannot take it."

With that, she felt herself being moved around until she was folded in what felt like a bag, but maybe it wasn't, as she wasn't sure her burnt skin would allow her actually

to feel anything.

Zhagayah felt herself being lifted and carried away before she thought back into a deep sleep.