Previously in Echoes of the Immortal Flame…
A girl with moonlight in her eyes speaks Aryan's name—one she should not know. Her voice stirs ancient echoes, her presence flares the Flame Seed. Is she a dream, a trick, or a truth wrapped in fire?
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The night was still, but within Aryan, a storm brewed.
He stood beneath the ancient lantern tree, its silver leaves rustling like whispers from the dead. The girl—no, the memory wearing flesh—stood mere paces away, staring at him with eyes too knowing, too familiar.
> "How do you know my name?"
His voice was calm. Too calm. Like fire right before it explodes.
The girl tilted her head, her dark hair slipping over her shoulder like flowing ink.
> "I… don't know. I just… did."
That wasn't an answer.
But it was the truth.
And somehow, that was worse.
The Flame Seed pulsed within him, flaring faintly—responding not to danger… but to longing. To recognition. Something inside him—older than this body, older than death—remembered her.
She took a step forward.
> "I've seen you before. In dreams. In fire. In pain. I woke up crying once… and I said your name before I knew it."
Aryan's breath caught.
She had dreamed of him. Before they ever met.
> Like I dreamed of her… before I died.
A breeze swept through the grove, carrying with it the scent of scorched petals and frostbitten moonlight. A sign. A warning.
Or an invitation.
> "What is your name?" he asked.
The girl hesitated.
Then whispered,
> "Aelira."
The name struck him like a blade wrapped in silk.
Aelira.
Not Lirael.
But close. Too close.
Before he could speak again, the flames in his core stirred—not with rage, but with remembrance. Aelira took another step closer, and the light in her eyes flickered—
And for just a moment, Aryan saw her. The girl he had loved. The girl who had killed him.
And in that heartbeat, he didn't know if he wanted to run… or hold her.
To be continued…
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Author's Note (R.E. Solcrest):
Who is Aelira? Reincarnation, illusion, or something deeper? Aryan's past refuses to stay buried, and the flame is stirring again. Don't miss the next chapter—where dreams, betrayal, and fate collide.
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