The sun was long gone, and in its place hung a copper sky streaked with ash. Elira crouched beneath the scorched remains of an archway, flame gauntlets pulsing low like a heartbeat. Her chest rose and fell, sweat glistening beneath the soot on her skin.
Beside her, Kael's sword was cracked down the middle—Dante's earlier spell had left a ripple in its metal, like a curse etched deep.
"They're surrounding the plaza," Kael muttered, peeking past rubble. "Elira, we have minutes. Maybe less."
Elira's mind raced. It had been only hours since they confronted the Warden of the Fourth Flame—a beast cloaked in obsidian armor, bearing the symbol of her father's killer. And now the city was reacting like a wounded animal, baring its fangs.
"We don't fight to win," she whispered. "We fight to send a message."
Kael nodded. "And what message is that?"
Elira stood, a rising storm in human form. "That Emberbloods don't kneel."
Behind them, smoke curled through alleyways as the enemy closed in. But Elira's flames rose higher.
Let them come.
The sun was long gone, and in its place hung a copper sky streaked with ash. Elira crouched beneath the scorched remains of an archway, flame gauntlets pulsing low like a heartbeat. Her chest rose and fell, sweat glistening beneath the soot on her skin.
Beside her, Kael's sword was cracked down the middle—Dante's earlier spell had left a ripple in its metal, like a curse etched deep.
"They're surrounding the plaza," Kael muttered, peeking past rubble. "Elira, we have minutes. Maybe less."
Elira's mind raced. It had been only hours since they confronted the Warden of the Fourth Flame—a beast cloaked in obsidian armor, bearing the symbol of her father's killer. And now the city was reacting like a wounded animal, baring its fangs.
"We don't fight to win," she whispered. "We fight to send a message."
Kael nodded. "And what message is that?"
Elira stood, a rising storm in human form. "That Emberbloods don't kneel."
Behind them, smoke curled through alleyways as the enemy closed in. But Elira's flames rose higher.
Let them come.