The hallway stretched before them like a trap. Jasmine's breath was shallow as she crept behind Draven, who now had Adriana slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain, grumbling curses under his breath with every other step.
"This is the last time I do charity work for wild-eyed women," he muttered, voice low and venom-laced.
"You say that like you had a choice," Jasmine whispered back, eyes flicking to the warped shadows dancing under the doorframes. The old inn creaked beneath them, every floorboard threatening to betray their position.
Draven glanced over his shoulder, giving her a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "I always have a choice. You're just very loud, very annoying, and apparently very stubborn."
Jasmine scowled but said nothing. Her heart was racing too fast now, pounding against her ribs like it wanted out. The heat hadn't faded—it still burned along her spine, under her skin, crawling like something alive. Whatever the "death flame" was, it was clouding her Sense not in a good way though.
She kept pace behind him, one hand skimming the wall, the other clenched at her side, her fingertips tingling like they were ready to catch fire.
They came close to exiting the back door but it seems fate had other plans for them because it was at that moment the floor board creek.
Draven froze.
Jasmine did too.
One of the rogue who was proceeding away turn to catch in the act of escape, he would have let them off if they weren't screaming suspicious.
Draven tilted his head slightly, just enough for her to see his jaw clench. "Back exit," he mouthed, jerking his chin toward the kitchen at the far end of the hall.
"Go now!" He yelled as a death flame was hauled at them it hit the hall next to them as they missed it by an inch.
Draven staggered to the side, the weight he carried pressing down on him. Every movement was a struggle. He couldn't swing fast enough, nor could he dodge their attack quick enough, and he cursed under his breath for every precious second that slipped through his fingers as the death flame missed him by inches.
They burst through the back exit in a frantic rush. The startled helpers froze at the sight, their eyes wide with horror before a chorus of shrieks filled the air. Dropping whatever they held, they scattered like frightened birds, leaving the path open but soaked in fear.
Draven kicked open the back door with a booted foot, the hinges groaning in protest.
"Go," he hissed.
She didn't hesitate.
As he stayed behind to create a distraction for the rogues, he locked eyes with one of them, and that alone was enough to unleash chaos. Like wind-up dolls, the rogues suddenly turned on each other, attacking without hesitation.
Outside, the night slapped Jasmine with cold air and the stench of damp earth. They were behind the building now, a long stretch of overgrown weeds and gravel leading into the treeline. Safety wasn't close. But it was out there.
Jasmine took the lead, brushing branches aside, the heat under her skin flaring again as if sensing the rogues closing in.
Behind her, Draven grunted. "Hope you know where you're going."
She glanced back at him. "Don't worry," she muttered. "If we get caught, I'll make sure to throw you at them first."
His bark of laughter was sharp, sarcastic, and short-lived.
Then a low snarl echoed through the woods.
Draven's expression shifted instantly, cold and deadly. "They're flanking in fast. Two at least, those beasts recover quite quickly."
Jasmine's fingers curled around the dagger she'd snatched earlier from the inn's counter drawer. It felt too light in her trembling hand, useless almost, but it was all she had. Her heart thudded violently in her chest, a constant hammering against her ribs as if her body was screaming at her to run, not fight.
Draven had already moved, placing Adriana down by the thick trunk of a tree, tucking her into the safety of the shadows. Jasmine's eyes flicked toward them for only a second, the girl's chest was still rising.
The moon overhead poured silver light over the clearing, enough to paint the silhouettes of the attackers closing in.
"You up for this, flame girl?" Draven called out, barely sparing her a glance as he adjusted Adriana with drew a cruel-looking blade with the other.
She didn't answer. Didn't trust her voice not to crack. Her throat was tight, her palms sweaty, her mind racing with too many thoughts and none at all.
Then the rogues came, fast and wild, their flames twisting unnaturally through the air like serpents made of rage and smoke. A flash of heat sliced across her cheek as one hurled a fireball straight at her—Jasmine ducked low, almost hitting the ground as the heat skimmed past, close enough to singe the tips of her hair.
Her breath hitched. Her legs were moving before she had time to think, boots skidding on leaves, barely keeping balance. She looked up just in time to see one of the men rushing toward her. Big heavy footsteps. Flame magic dripping from his fists like molten blood.
Draven was tangled up with the others, fighting like a demon, blades flashing in the moonlight,he didn't have time to help her. She was on her own. Not that she was complaining.
Jasmine's hand hit the ground, and without thinking, she grabbed a fistful of wet mud and flung it at the bastard charging her. It splattered across his face, but he barely flinched, deflecting most of it with an annoyed swipe of his arm. Damn it. She'd hoped it would blind him anything to buy her a few more seconds.
She was still on her ass from the earlier stumble, her spine aching from the impact, but she scrambled backward on her elbows and heels, trying to put space between them. Her breath came in jagged bursts. Every inch of her felt like it had been slammed into a wall.
But the bastard wasn't having it.
He grabbed her ankle and yanked hard, dragging her back like a rag doll. His palm burned against her skin literally. Heat pulsed from his hand, searing through the fabric of her pants and branding her like hot oil. Jasmine cried out through gritted teeth, the sound sharp and strangled. It hurt—god, it burned and her panic exploded into rage.
She twisted her body and slammed her other foot forward with everything she had. Her heel connected with his jaw in a brutal crack that snapped his head to the side. He staggered back, dazed, a low grunt punching out of his mouth.
She didn't wait.
Her hand found a solid log beside her, rough and damp from the forest floor. She didn't hesitate as she swung it up and smashed it into his bald head with a sickening thud. The hit landed hard. His eyes went wide, a dark glower etched into his bloody face as the impact split his scalp and no hair to cushion it. Good.
Jasmine dropped the log and scrambled up, her legs shaky and muscles howling in protest. Pain laced every step, her ankle throbbed, but she didn't stop. Well she couldn't. She shoved herself through the underbrush, chest heaving, her vision swimming but her gut told her she wasn't safe yet.
And she was right.
A snarl behind her was low and animalistic. She turned just as the rogue lunged at her again, blood dripping down his face, his eyes filled with something crueler than hate. And this time it seems he was done playing.
Oh good lord...don't you guys ever give up? Jasmine thought, barely holding back the scream lodged in her throat. Every muscle in her body screamed as she tried to push herself up, her limbs trembling under her weight. Her legs felt like wet noodles, and her arms weren't doing much better. It was a miracle she was still conscious.
She wasn't even sure how she'd fought them off earlier. She hadn't planned any of it, it had just happened. Instinct maybe, probably panic But now? Now she was running on empty, and the flicker of adrenaline that had carried her this far was flickering out fast.
Please… she begged silently. Wind…air…whatever you are, help me again.
But nothing stirred. No gust of wind, not even the rustle of leaves to give her false hope.
A sharp yank from behind tore her thoughts to pieces, pain exploded through her skull like lightning. She cried out, the sound ragged and raw, her vision flashing white for a second. Her knees hit the dirt again. It was like they'd zapped her brain like fire and electricity and knives all at once stabbing her from the inside out.
And he was still there. That same rogue, now standing directly in front of her. Taller, angrier, crueler than before.
Then she saw it.
The flame in his hand.
Only it wasn't just fire.
It moved like fire, sure, danced like it too but it wasn't right. This wasn't warm, it wasn't golden light, this was sick. A disgusting blackish-red flickering in the center of a flame that looked like it had been birthed from rot and rage. Just staring at it made her stomach twist. It looked wrong and tainted.
And the worst part?
She'd absorbed that shit earlier. Swallowed it down like air like it had wanted her too. Just the memory of it slithering through her veins made bile rise in her throat.
She wanted to vomit. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run, to disappear, to not be here anymore.
His hand was still tangled in her hair, yanking her head back as the disgusting flame in his palm sparked too close, Jasmine could feel it on her skin prickling with heat before it even touched her.
No. Not like this.
With a cry torn from her gut, she jabbed him so hard right in the ribs with the full weight of desperation behind it. He grunted and stumbled back, his grip finally releasing her. Jasmine fell to her knees, gasping, but didn't stop.
She twisted around pushing through the pain. She didn't know what she was doing didn't have a damn clue but her hands found his head, palms pressed tight against his skull like something inside her urged her it was right.
And then it happened.
His scream shattered the night.
It ripped out of him so raw and violent, it didn't sound human. His body thrashed under her hands, spine arching, arms flailing as if he was being torn apart from the inside. His mouth gaped wide, but the sound had turned into this hideous gurgling shriek and all Jasmine could do was hold on, her arms trembling as something poured out of her, or into him, or maybe both.
It felt like wind and fire and lightning twisting through her bones.
She didn't understand it and and didn't want to understand it.
Then it all stopped.The rogue crumpled to the ground lifeless
Jasmine stood there, swaying, her hands still outstretched like she couldn't believe what just happened. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, uneven breaths, heart pounding like war drums in her ears.
She turned slightly dizzy, her vision swaying with her and that's when she saw him staring at her
Draven stood still his eyes locked on her, a flicker of something unreadable flashing across his face. It only lasted a second, but she caught it. He looked at her like he was seeing something else entirely. Well could you blame him it was a fight or die situation and she was choosing the later.
She wanted to say something but her lips wouldn't move. The world tilted as her vision swarm, she felt Burnout and exhausted.
Her knees buckled.
And before she could even put two and two together, the darkness swallowed her whole.