She stepped back, banging against the wall. Retreating was no longer an option. Kester struck again, locking his sword with hers, and slowly pushed his blade closer and closer to her face. His breath was warm against her cheek, fueled by Emerazel’s flames.

Her arms burned with exhaustion. She hadn’t been training, and her muscles weren’t ready for this. Kester’s blade pushed closer, grazing her cheek. He’s going to cut my face off. As panic flooded her, an image burst into her mind: a blood-soaked floor, a crumpled body, twitching fingertips. What was that? She didn’t recognize the images, but a hollow opened in her chest all the same, a void so deep and cavernous it could never be filled. Her heart ached.

Kester’s eyes were incandescent, the heat from his body overwhelming. He was going to kill her. She was certain of it. “Get away from me.” Fire kindled in her core, filling the void with a burning sensation. Almost instantly, it turned violently hot, like a dying star. Strength burned through her nerve endings. I am hellfire, and I will bathe the world in flames.

Fire blasted out of her body, knocking Kester away.

He dropped his sword, holding out his hands. “Get it under control.”

Glorious flames poured from her body in waves. She was no longer standing in the armory. She was in the center of a volcanic maelstrom, blessed with the power of a god.

Distantly she heard a hissing noise. Within moments, the inferno was gone, replaced by snow, and she coughed. But this snow wasn’t cold; it was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe. She fell to her knees, gasping.

Kester stood above her. “Use Emerazel’s fire for strength. Don’t burn down your apartment.”

“Something snapped in me when you held that blade to my cheek.” Whatever spell Kester had used stung like hell, and it tasted awful. The room smelled of burnt straw, and the tatami mats lay scorched. As she turned toward the wall-length mirror, she caught a glimpse of herself covered in white powder.

“I was trying to teach you to use your power. It doesn’t burn me, but it will be burn the shadow demons.”

“It looked like you were about to cut my face off.” She rose, shaking off the powder.

“Why would I do that?”

She cocked a hip. I don’t know. Why did you leave a man to bleed out across from my bedroom? “Maybe you wanted to wear it on your next mission because of my considerable allure.”