She screamed it into the roaring inferno.
Not because she wanted to burn.
But because she couldn't bear the cost.
She couldn't watch the man who had just claimed every inch of her body burn alive simply to carry her dead weight.
She clutched at him, her weak fingers curling against his ruined shoulder as if to shove his broad chest away.
She recoiled in horror. He was so hot. His back actually sizzled beneath her soft palm.
"Please!" she sobbed, her voice splintering over the crackle of splitting wood. "I-I can't—I c-can't take this—Cruxius—y-you're…"
Her whole frame shook, jarring her sensitive, swollen core against his hip. Her limbs remained totally useless. Her soul was screaming.
Her trembling lips grazed his jaw. A few tears finally managed to fall—but the moment they struck his scorching skin, they gave a vicious hiss, flashing into steam.
She choked, a wet hiccup stumbling past her teeth.
