Night clung to the forest like smoke clings to lungs—dense, suffocating. The moon slipped behind clouds, and Liora stumbled again, bracing herself against a tree. Her legs were sore, her head still throbbing with the memory of flame.
Kael moved ahead, silent and purposeful, his cloak trailing behind him like a shadow.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Half a day east of the Ember Temple. If we stay ahead of the patrols, we'll reach the river by dawn."
"What happens at the river?"
"We cross it. And after that—we vanish."
Liora hugged herself as they walked. "I don't want to vanish. I want answers."
Kael didn't stop walking. "You'll get them. But not here. Not while every soldier in Arxarion is looking to gut you."
They moved deeper into the woods until Kael raised a hand. "There."
In a hollow between two moss-covered stones, a tiny fire burned in a makeshift pit. It shouldn't have been possible—no smoke, no scent—but it flickered steady and warm.
Someone was waiting.
A tall woman, veiled and still. Her robes whispered as she turned.
"Kael," she said. "You're late."
Kael bowed his head slightly. "Ashara."
Ashara's eyes, though hidden behind a thin cloth, seemed to see everything. She turned to Liora. "And this is the ember vessel."
"I'm not a vessel," Liora snapped. "I'm a person."
Ashara tilted her head, unbothered. "You're both. And more."
Liora stepped back. "I don't even know who you are."
"I am a Seer. One of the last. And I knew you would come, child of fire."
Kael folded his arms. "She needs protection, not riddles."
"She needs truth," Ashara replied. "And fire burns truth into bone."
The seer moved to the fire and beckoned Liora closer. "Sit. Listen. And remember."
Liora hesitated, but something in her ember pulsed—like recognition.
She sat across from Ashara, who reached out and touched her forehead.
Flame leapt.
But it wasn't heat that touched Liora—it was memory.
A battlefield. Gods made of light and shadow clashing. Screams. Betrayal. A crown of burning feathers.
Then darkness.
When she opened her eyes, Ashara was watching her closely.
"What did you see?" she whispered.
"Death," Liora said. "And gods. And something else..."
"Hope?"
Liora shook her head. "Power."
Ashara leaned back. "Then the ember truly lives in you."
Kael's face was grim. "What now?"
Ashara turned toward the fire. "Now? We run. Before the Queen sends her Shadows."