A Fire in the Flesh (Flesh and Fire, #3)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“I know you feel like you’ve been given no choices in life,” he’d said in that gentle way of his when he told me something he knew I didn’t want to hear. “But every day, there is a choice to keep going, to face the future head-on or not. Every day, there is a choice to be honest with yourself or to lie. One will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, and the other the easiest, but there is always the opportunity for choice if you don’t take the easiest path.”

My brows lifted. “So, Sotoria’s name could be translated into my pretty…” A strange shiver curled its way down my spine. “My pretty poppy?”

Attes turned to the bars, then stopped. “Do you feel her now?” His throat worked as his gaze found mine. “Sotoria’s soul, I mean.” His question was strange to me, but I lifted a hand to my chest. I didn’t hear her as I had previously, but there was a flicker of something that wasn’t an ember. An awareness of someone there, watching and listening. “Yes.” Emotion flickered across his face, too fast for me to determine what it was or even be sure I’d seen anything. “Then I hope she hears this,” Attes said, swallowing once more. “I will save you this time.”

Kolis stopped at the cage door. “It’s not every day that one learns their sister has truly returned to them.”

A sour taste gathered in my mouth as I placed my hand on my chest. Ash asked me if I was okay, and I nodded. I didn’t feel different, yet I did. The presence I hadn’t been aware of for most of my life was gone, but Sotoria’s parting words lingered. We will meet again.

Somehow, I ended up facing the bank of the lake. The wolf was gone. In its place was a large feline, one that resembled a cave cat, but its fur wasn’t the shade of storm clouds—it gleamed like moonlight.

Movement behind her caught my attention. In the shadows, something moved—two of them. Smaller, their coats darker. My attention shifted back to the large feline. Our eyes locked, and I saw… I saw me looking back.