Eternal

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Flames licked at the restraints, crackling noisily as the smell of singed flesh filled the small space. My flesh. Burning, then healing—then burning again. At intervals, spikes pierced my sides, the jagged barbs tearing through skin and muscle and then retracting until the wounds healed over.

The searing pain was endless, relentless. I had no idea how long I’d been there in the torch-lit chamber beneath the Tribunal’s headquarters. Hours? Days? Weeks?

I swallowed hard, my elongated canines scraping my lower lip, drawing blood. Blood. I needed to feed. Denied my elixir, the thirst was driving me mad. I could smell it, somewhere up above, pulsing through veins and warming the skin of the living. The metallic tang made my mouth water, made me tremble with need. I closed my eyes, fighting the bloodlust, denying it.

When I opened my eyes again, she was there, standing before me.

Violet.

The orange flames flickered across her face, throwing shadows across her cheekbones. Her mouth curved into a smile as she reached a hand out to me, beckoning me.

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