Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(71)

The accusation in his words was clear. It stabbed at my heart and the wound was more painful than anything else I had experienced.

“I’ve spoken with her doctors and they don’t know if she will make it. They said that it’s touch and go.”

She.

Louise.

His sister.

I tried again to find my voice or reach for Clay, but all I could manage was to flex the fingers of my right hand for a fraction of a second.

His voice dropped to a whisper that seemed to echo in my ear, as if he was leaning over me and breathing words intended only for me.

“I don’t care why you did it, or what you think you were trying to do. What you’ve done is reprehensible.”

My heart broke that he wasn’t even interested in hearing my side of the story—not that I was in any fit state to tell it yet. My fingers twitched again as I fought against my unwilling body.

“If she doesn’t pull through, I . . .” He trailed off and when he started again, his voice dripped with hatred. Disdain hung from every syllable. “I’ll never forgive you.”

Silent whimpers and unshed tears filled my mind. I wanted to plead for forgiveness and tell him that I was sorry for whatever I’d done to Louise, but I couldn’t. My lips wouldn’t move; my body was frozen by the darkness that had encapsulated me. His anger and my guilt washed over me in a tidal wave of misery. It swept away every other thought, carrying away everything but the pain.

The passage of time seemed to halt and stutter. A second would last for hours at a time but then hundreds would flit by unnoticed. Eventually, I was awake more than I was asleep. My fingers moved when I told them to and my breaths were unassisted.

After discovering my eyes worked again, I squeezed my eyelids shut tight. What might I see if I looked down at my body? How many new scars and injuries did I bear?

I tipped my head back against the pillow as questions competed for attention in my mind.

What happened?

Where’s Louise? Is she . . . alive?

Where’s Clay? Has he left me for good?

My actions had initially been self-defense, but if Louise had perished in the fire I’d set, I couldn’t blame Clay for his hatred. The fact he was suffering at all because of my actions was enough to break my heart. I closed my eyes and let my sorrows take me away from the room and into a place where Clay led me in slow circles as we danced together in a room filled with fire.





VOICES SOUNDED nearby. I strained to listen to what they were saying. Opening one eye, I risked a glance around me. I was alone in the confines of my bed with the curtain drawn around it. Two silhouettes darkened a section of the screen.

“She’s been out for three days, Officer. We think she’s fighting an infection that’s causing her temperature to spike out of control, but we haven’t been able to identify it yet. I really don’t think you’ll be able to question her any time soon.”

“She’s the main suspect in three fires which have all resulted in fatalities. I need to speak to her as soon as she’s awake.”

“I understand, and I’m willing to help out as much as we can, but for now my priority is her health. I’ll call you as soon as she’s able to talk.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Have you heard anything more about the other young lady involved in the fire? I was informed she was transferred to a private facility.”

“She was. She didn’t make it.”

I fought back a sob that would have alerted the doctor and the officer that I was awake. Fatalities—the word seeped into my mind with the understanding that it included Louise. Clay’s words tore through my mind and rammed into my heart, “If she doesn’t pull through, I’ll never forgive you.”

“I assume the guard will stay?”

“Yes, we’ll keep her under twenty-four hour surveillance and allow no visitors. She’s already escaped custody twice before. I don’t want a third—not on my watch.”

“I understand.”

Allowing my eyes to drift closed again, I rested my head back on the pillow. The revelation that I was wanted in connection to two other fires startled me. Aside from the most recent fire, there was only one other fire I could think of: the fire that killed my father. My sudden disappearance had made that seem more suspicious than it otherwise might have been. Since then, I hadn’t been anywhere near any fires, except for Salem—the night of my reunion with Clay.

My heart ached as I thought his name. The words and venom of his bedside monologue seeped into my body like poison, filling me with dread and fear. I was certain Clay, with all his tricks and techniques, would easily have been able to evade the guard in front of my room. That certainty brought the revelation that he wasn’t absent simply because the police weren’t allowing visitors; he was gone because I had killed Louise. Someone from his family was dead because of me, which was something he’d probably never anticipated. I could easily recall my anger toward him for his part in my father’s death, and he hadn’t actually been the killer. I’d taken his sister’s life.

It was reprehensible.

Unforgiveable.

The desire to escape—to flee—became urgent. There was no reason for me to stay in town if Clay was no longer on my side. I definitely couldn’t allow the police to bring me in for questioning; it would be akin to signing my own death warrant. Too many of the Rain had connections in law enforcement, and I didn’t know the full extent of their reach. Even if I was lucky enough to evade them, there were simply too many questions the police would ask that I wouldn’t be able to provide adequate answers to.