THE AWAKENINGTyla woke to the sensation of fire crawling beneath her skin.
Not burning from the outside—burning from within*, as if lightning threaded her veins and refused to settle. Her ears rang with a pulse she didn’t recognize. The room swayed above her, a blur of stone ceiling and shadows dancing like living things. She forced her eyes open, gasping for air as something hot pressed against her spine and coursed upward until the world turned white.
A hand gripped hers.
“Tyla, open your eyes. Tyla—look at me.”
Arthur.
She clung to the sound of his voice.
Her vision snapped into focus, revealing Arthur leaning over her—his hair disheveled, his chest heaving, his eyes glowing with a golden fury she had never seen before. He looked like he hadn’t blinked in hours. His thumb trembled
