Burning Blood

We stopped again as Lucien fiddled with the throttle. “How hard can this thing be? It’s just physics. Speed versus gravity.”

The faintest headache cut through the medicine. His pondering did not fill me with confidence.

With a curse, he fed power slowly this time...skimming his feet over the ground as we crept forward. “There, see? Simple.”

And for a few miraculous seconds, it was.

The bike smoothed out, the engine settled, and Lucien found the balance point.

But then the bike veered sharply, almost vaulting us off.

Lucien grabbed the silver disc over his heart as his feet planted down, stopping us from falling. “Fucking hell.”

He hunched over the handlebars, panting hard as pain tore down his spine so strongly, I felt it down my own.

My pulse skyrocketed. “Lucien?” I swore his energy dimmed. That the heat within him turned into a wasteland of ash and charcoal. “Lucien!”

“No need to yell, I’m right here.” Straightening, he swallowed a groan. “I’m fine.”

“God, you are such a liar!” I clung to him, terror choking me. “You’re dying. You’re trying to ride a motorcycle while dying and—”

“How did I never realise how pessimistic you are?”

“How did I not understand what a pig-headed idiot you are?!”

He chuckled as he fisted the handles again. Sheer stubbor

“Just...let me concentrate.”

“Is that your way of telling me to shut up?” I snapped.

“Yes, so do it.”

I huffed as Whisper gave me a commiserating eye roll. “Fine. But don’t you dare die.”

A rough, breathless laugh tore out of him. “Relax. I have far too many people to kill to die that easily.”

The bike surged forward again, quick and reckless, carrying us straight toward the gate.

Whisper broke into a run, keeping pace with us in the rain.

The closer we got, the more my heart raced. I trembled with urgency and desperation, needing to cross that threshold and run far, far away.

Lucien inhaled sharply, his chest straining as if he felt the same things.

“We’re almost there.” I patted his rigid belly. “We’ll make it.”

He jolted as if my encouragement meant more to him than I knew.

Adding more speed than I was comfortable with, he shot us the final way.

We roared over the threshold.

We exploded from the palace’s walls.

And as we tore down the long driveway, heading toward the final gate, I swore the world trembled, knowing Lucien Ashfall was moments away from freedom.