Read Online The Flame of Wrath by Christene Knight - Free Book Online Page B

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                  The intense light had fallen away. It glowed weakly inside the closed hands of the ghostly woman. Through her hands, its illumination was soft like a trapped firefly.
                  The woman disappeared and with her so too did all the light of the world.
                  She was alone now. It gripped her coldly, causing her entire body to quake and shiver.
                  Once the horizon had been a blackened pane of glass through which no light could enter, but as she waited within that dark stillness, Nature's design morphed. She extended a disbelieving hand.
                  To desperate eyes, tiny droplets of rain began to beat against its surface. First one came and then another until little by little, light filtered through the fathomless night. She cleaved to those appearing beads. They were everything.
                  Timidly, light began to peak through. The ancient stars were born. Their voices silently announced themselves.
                  Before her eyes, the cosmos was created. She watched it breathe deeply, drawing in its first moments of life. Her roving gaze settled upon the brilliance of a solitary star. She outstretched trembling fingers, straining to reach it. As her fingertip touched the surface of the tiny star, it collapsed into limp ash.
                  Floating on a non-existent breeze, it swirled and changed the distant horizon.
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                  “Highness?”
                  “Highness, are you all right?”
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                  A single ray of gracious light fell. It lit a pair of bewitching eyes. Those eyes stared up to her with a feeling she could neither deny nor escape. She felt the tears rise within her eyes as she stared deeply into their depths.
                  Inside those eyes she caught sight of a newborn constellation. It burned more brightly than any constellation she had ever seen. She memorized its body, knowing that it would always remind her of those eyes, those beautifully haunting eyes.
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                  The voices slowly crashed against the rocks of her consciousness. With a weakness weighting her limbs, she opened her eyes.
                  Surrounding her bed, she saw the faces of many she recognized, but only one face truly stood apart from the others. Her hand reached out for that one.
                  In understanding, Maven immediately acted. She spirited the others from the room. She watched over her weakened Queen with agonized green eyes. She was consumed by the fear she felt for her sovereign. Then without a word, she too left the room.
                  Confusion filled her now. The dark-haired woman took a timid step forward. Her right hand clutched at her left bicep. Nervously her thumb smoothed its surface. She darted her eyes to the sealed doors then toward the young woman staring at her with unwavering eyes.
                  “Should I leave as well?” she whispered.
                  “No, Autumn.” Aurea wondered if she had truly spoken. She felt outside herself. “I need you with me.” Even as the words hovered in the air, she wondered if she had actually uttered them.
                  Autumn moved forward. She swiftly descended upon the Queen as if those words had granted her the act of flight. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she loomed protectively over the weakened blond. Her eyes were a darkened gray, their sorrow clearly seen.
                  “My Queen, what happened?” she asked. Her hand gently touched itself to Aurea's fevered cheek.
                  Aurea leaned into the hand which was so soft against her skin. She closed her eyes with a pained frown. “May I tell you something I have never shared with anyone?” she