Scorch (28 page)

Lana looked away, letting the couple share a
few moments without scrutiny. Her eyes searched for those of her
husband, and found them alight, proud. His eyes shifted, met
Lana's, and in that second, it was like their entire lives flashed
between them, and they knew that somehow, it was all meant to be.
Everything their family had endured, it was all meant to be.

Hands clutched fiercely together, Kira and
Luke walked back into view, moving as one toward the platform.

Pavia was out of her chair, waiting for them,
arms crossed.

"Cutting it a little close, don't you
think?"

"What, you didn’t trust me?" Luke teased and
Pavia just raised her eyebrow.

"With good reason," Kira drawled, elbowing
him playfully in the ribs. He just hugged her close, kissing the
top of her head. Kira protested, but Lana knew her granddaughter,
and there was no real fight in her body as she leaned into that
kiss.

Behind them, her husband coughed, urging the
children to move a little quicker, and Lana laughed quietly to
herself—so much personality for one little wooden stage to
contain.

Pavia returned to her seat, sitting a little
taller this time, with a little more confidence. Luke moved to
stand next to Noah.

Kira shifted her gaze and Lana followed it to
Tristan. He was watching her politely and inclined his head in
hello. Kira lifted one corner of her lip, sad but happy at the same
time, and greeted him the same way. Then Tristan's eyes shifted,
returning to Pavia, and Kira nodded to herself, satisfied, before
walking over next to Luke.

"Ready?" She asked Pavia. The vampire
nodded.

Luke brought a flame to his palm, the fire
caught Lana's eyes, but Kira pushed his hand to the side. His brows
furrowed.

"I can do this," Kira said, just loud enough
for Lana to hear, but the words filled her with a sense of peace.
Her granddaughter was an incredibly strong woman.

And even at only eighteen, Kira lifted her
arm, the wrist wrapped in a bandage, as a sign of her resolve.
Almost instantly, flames erupted above her hand, sizzling and
cackling as though alive. Her powers were still strong, but now
they were pure Protector. Even from her seat on the sideline, Lana
felt the difference.

And the fire grew, expanding to encase the
vampire's entire body, burning into cool flesh. Pavia didn’t
flinch. That was how confident she was.

Kira nodded to Noah.

He brought a Punisher flame to his palm—it
was darker, different, and completely foreign to Lana. But not to
Kira.

Together they worked—two powers and two
people.

At first, Pavia's flesh began to burn, but
after awhile, the crusted skin flaked off to reveal smooth, pink,
human flesh.

But Lana had stopped watching the vampire,
and had shifted her attention to her granddaughter instead. A grin
spread from ear to ear, brighter than the flames shooting from
Kira's palms. Her eyes sparkled as they looked out at the crowd, at
Tristan, and finally at Luke.

And one thought entered Lana's mind—she
wished her daughter was there to see it, was alive to see what she
had created, because Kira was perfect.

She had saved the world.

She had saved her people.

But most of all, she had proved exactly what
Lana's daughter had been begging her mother to understand all
along—that love would prevail.

Love of a world, of a people, of a vampire,
and of a boy.

In the end, it was love and not fire that
saved them.

###

About the Author

Kaitlyn Davis graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns
Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars. She's been
writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed
to finally share her work with the world. She currently lives in
New York City and dreams of having a cockapoo puppy of her own.
Vbuf

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