@spellsandscandals
the dubois estate, during the storm.
The storm had come so suddenly, the crack of thunder shaking the very foundations of her home. The river in the forest swelled, water charging across the short grassy expanse that separated the trees from the grand house. The flash flood sent the household into a panicked frenzy, and for a few brief, terrifying moments, no one was able to tell her where her son was.
Leandra had found him as the waters rose around her thighs. He had hidden in the lower kitchens early in the night, frightened by the thunder. An old habit from when he had been just a toddler. He had been huddled on the counter, tucked as small as he could to keep away from the rising waters. Pale yellow and silver flames flickered weakly across his shoulders, a youthful mirror of her own blaze. Antony had all but fallen into her arms, tucking his tall frame against her and burying his face against her shoulder. "We have to go, sweetling," Leandra whispered, pulling him through the floodwaters filling the small, windowless room. They struggled up the stone steps, slipping against the wet rock, legs tangling in sodden nightclothes. Leandra could feel scrapes against her palms and knees when they finally reached the door. It had swung shut behind her after she'd entered, and now the rising water held it firm.
Antony's flames spread from him, flickering against her shoulders and arms as he clung to her. Leandra pounded against the door so hard the wood began splintering against her palm. "Help!" she shouted, her voice drowned out by the thunder and the angry river, "help us please!"