Ella
The moment Paige mentioned the fire, my chest tightened as if invisible claws had wrapped around my heart.
It happened so suddenly that I had to pause mid-step, my fingers curling around my phone while my breathing stuttered for half a second too long.
I had long learned how to mask my reactions, how to keep my face calm and my pulse steady no matter what was thrown at me—but that word still had power.
Fire.
The memory surged forward without mercy.
Heat licking at my skin. Smoke choking the air. The sound of something collapsing in the distance. And my mother—my beautiful, brilliant mother—turning back when everyone else was running away.
Hide yourself, Ella.
Her voice echoed in my mind, just as it always did when the past clawed its way to the surface.
Conceal your talents.
