Chapter 1
The weight of the smoke seared her throat as it pressed down into her lungs.
“Ber—” her hacking cough cut off his name. “Bertrand!”
The roar of the flames swallowed her shout.
The world is on fire, and I’ll burn with it.
A scream carried down from high above, the voice too shrill to be Bertrand’s.
“Hello?” Maggie stumbled toward the sound.
The dense smoke hid the form of whatever landscape burned around her, but the flames danced higher in the direction of the scream, reaching far above Maggie’s head with no sign of something she might climb to reach the terrified person.
“I’m coming!” Maggie gagged on a burst of sour smoke. Something in the haze burned her eyes, blurring her vision.
Sparks whirled around her as she swayed, retching black that tore painfully from her thr
