"I can't bear losing you again."

Blazing Fire

I WOKE UP drenched in sweat and ran out of breath as if I'd been running. I tried to calm my breathing only to have my heart jump when I heard his deep voice asking, "are you okay?"

I slid my gaze to the left and saw Vladimir. His face beaded with sweat as his vivid dark green eyes looked at me from beneath his ridiculously long lashes. "Are you okay?" asked him once again.

I swallowed convulsively and nodded. "Bad dream," I shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

"Let me guess." His fingers rubbed his chin as he gave it a thought. "Zombies?"

I laughed. "No. It's been a while since I had a zombie nightmare. Dang, I think I miss having Jesse Eisenberg or Andrew Lincoln in my dreams."

Vlad leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. "Well, good thing the only girl I dream about is you so I can wake up in the morning and do this." He put one finger under my chin and lifted it up as he gave me one hell of a kiss.

As usual, the sleepiness was gone almost in an instant.

He pulled away and winked. "Good morning."

"Morning." I was about to pull him down for another kiss when the noise of the tent zipper being open prompted me. It was Spyridon.

"Good morning, Lady Stavros." He nodded then slid his gaze to Vlad as he continued his greeting, "Lord Ambrosia."

We replied to him with a short "morning" in unison.

"We have to move. It is unwise to stay more than a night when the faction can catch up with us any time."

Vlad nodded. "We'll be right behind you."

Once Spyridon left, I put my head on his shoulder and groaned. "Ugh, I hate this."

"I know," replied Vladimir softly. "But for now, there's nothing we can do but run. We can't let them catch you."

There was something in his voice that set off warning bells in my head. I looked up and found those dark green eyes staring back at me with so much love and sadness. "Vlad?"

He didn't say anything but smiled. We stared at each other for one full minute before he stood and offered me his hand. "Let's go."

Eight hours. We had been walking for eight hours straight without so much as a ten minutes break. My legs were tired, my muscles were tight, and my breathing was harsh. "Can we stop for a five minutes break?" I put one hand on the tree beside me to help me stand. "You know even those trained athletes take a break every now and then."

Spyridon's eyes showed no place to argue and his voice was as hard as his stare when he said, "We have to move. Now."

"Geez, Zeus!" I took one step and almost fell to my death as my legs buckled. As always, Vlad was there to catch my arm and prevent me from falling. "Thanks."

Once he made sure I was able to stand without his support, he crouched down with his back on me. "Go on."

"Go on what?"

He looked past his shoulder and smiled. "Hop on. I'll carry you."

I wasn't dumb. I knew my weight was the same as two fat pigs. There was no way I would let him carry me. "No, no. I can walk."

"Avy," he sighed exasperatedly. "Just hop on."

"Believe me, general, you wouldn't want to carry me if you know how much I weighed."

The corners of his lips slid upward into a slow, sensual smile and I could feel my heart skip a beat. "I'll take my chances."

I was so sure he would regret his decision once he carried me for five minutes but surprisingly, he stayed for more than one hour, making me feel awful.

Damn, why am I such a pig?!

"Vlad, I think you can put me down now."

He shook his head. "No, I'm good."

"Seriously, you're gonna have a backache and I'm not a good masseuse."

Vlad let out a low chuckle. "Don't worry," he replied, stubbornly still refusing to let me down. "I don't need you to message me, although I don't mind giving you one," he added softly. His voice was barely a whisper, too low for anyone else to hear, yet enough to send shivers down my body.

"Vlad," I warned him. And my mind for planting these disturbing thoughts in my head. Except that they weren't thoughts, they were real. He and I tangled up in his bed. I shook those thoughts away, knowing fully well that now wasn't the right time. "I'm serious. I'll jump if you don't put me down."

He seemed to have a battle with his own mind but in the end, he got down on his knees. I planted my feet on the ground and stood. "Thanks."

"Just let me know if your legs hurt again and I'll carry you."

I scoffed. "There's no way I'm going to let you carry me ever again."

He looked deeply into my eyes, his gaze so hot and intent that heat flushed my skin. "Even on our wedding day?" One corner of his lips turned upward into a sexy smirk. "Don't you want to be carried over the threshold?"

We'd never mention a wedding in any of our conversations. For me, having him around was enough. I could care less about marriage and all those grown-up stuff. And I never thought that the idea had crossed his mind.

"O-o-our we-wedding?!"

Vlad seemed to enjoy my moment of speechlessness as a full-fledged grin formed on his lips. "Yeah. Don't you want to marry me?" His brow arched daringly. "Well, I won't marry anyone but you."

I opened my mouth to give a comeback when I heard noises followed by Spyridon cursing in a language (probably Greek) that I didn't understand. Vlad's jaw clenched tightly as his smile wiped off his face without a trace.

"What's going on?"

Vlad swallowed. He looked in so much pain as he said, "run, Avy. Run as fast as you could."

Spyridon moved beside me and handed me the brown satchel he'd been carrying these past three days. "He's right, Lady Stavros. You need to run. We'll try to stop them."

"No. I won't leave you all here!"

"Avy, just run!" Vlad nearly yelled, causing me to stagger backward.

My voice was barely a whisper as I asked, "Why?"

He bent down and kissed me. I could taste his tears in his kiss. As he pulled away, ending the kiss quicker than I would've wanted, he licked his bottom lips and said, "because I can't bear losing you again."

* * *

And so I did. I ran as fast as I could but somehow I still felt that it wasn't enough. I saw one of them out of the corner of my eye. A man wrapped in a black cloak.

He was going to catch me, I was damn sure about it yet I refused to give up as I forced both of my legs to run.

I didn't want to die, there was so much that I wanted to do in life and there was one person I wanted to share my life with. One person that risked his life so I could save mine. I couldn't afford to die now.

This whole thing was bullshit! I didn't want to be the last Stavros alive, I didn't care if I was just a regular, at least no one wanted to kill me if I were one.

Freaking pepperoni pizza!
(a/n. I'd changed all the swear words in the edited version of Entwined so yeah, this was one of the swear words)

My heart was pounding as I ran through the tall pine trees surrounding the area. It was dark and there was no star to light up my path.

I turned to my right, ignoring the sound of footsteps indicating that my chaser was getting closer and closer. At last, I saw a spark of light and ran toward that. Having an aim was easier than running around with no direction.

I was so close. A few feet more. My eyes caught a movement and I abruptly stopped. At least a dozen people were there, surrounding me. No way I could escape them.

I'm doomed. Shiitake mushroom!

They moved closer, ready to capture me and probably drag me to Zeus knows where. The air felt thick despite the coolness of December air.

My throat felt like it was on fire. With my whole body drenched in sweat, I tried to calm my thundering heart.

Perhaps this is how my story ends.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst.

I love you.

I lifted my hands up and waved at them, hoping they would take that as a white flag and stop shooting me.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, as fast as light could travel, a blazing fire shot from above and burned the ground in front of me.

What the hell is happening? Are they going to burn me alive?! Geez, I know they're evil but I ain't a witch, damn it!

Looking like a great famished beast devouring everything in its path and belching out black smoke, the flame flickered as if it was dancing and following a rhythm no one could hear but itself. And before I knew it, it pulled me inside into its core, the center of its heart if it had any. I closed my eyes, and surrendered to its mercy because no fight was going to save me.

Guess that's how I die.

* * *

So, my angels! Phew, what a chapter.

When I had this dream nearly six months ago (?) I was confused.
Because I just started this new book, why would Avery die in the first chapter?! Like it doesn't make any sense. Plus, it would be a hell of a time jump from the last chapter of Entwined.
But now (17 dreams later) I finally got it, I finally understood that it was not the first chapter but the climax of the story (hence, excerpt).

Anyway, I'm sure no one wants to hear me talking about my dreams, so do any theories that you'd like to share with me? Do you think Spyridon, Klas, and Vladimir survived? What do you think will happen? Let me know!

Loads of Pizza,
agatha x