Chapter Summary:
Back in Emberhold under the suffocating eye of the Cold Council, Echo finds herself trapped in a gilded cage. Soren's presence is more than political—it's personal. Surveillance tightens, trust fractures, and Kael begins to dig into the shadows of his past, only to discover a link between his family's downfall and Echo's cursed Inheritance.
Chapter 78: House of Spies
By morning, Emberhold no longer felt like home.
It felt like a trap.
The Cold Council's insignia had been affixed to the entry gates. Silver threads in the drapery glinted with surveillance runes. Echo couldn't even sneeze without the walls whispering about it.
She stood at her window in the east wing, watching the guards shuffle into new rotations. They wore the Council's black-and-white now. Not Emberhold's fire-gold.
Not hers.
Kael appeared behind her, silent but steady. "They replaced your sentries," he said quietly.
"I noticed." Her tone was clipped.
"You're not going to let them do this, are you?"
Echo turned. Her eyes burned like smothered coals.
"I let them think they've done it."
Kael exhaled, relieved—until Echo added, "But I need proof before I can burn them down."
He stiffened. "Proof of what?"
She hesitated, then held up the ember shard. The Void Flame's power pulsed faintly inside, but it didn't burn her. Not anymore. It hummed like it was waiting.
"Soren didn't just show up," she said. "He planned this."
Kael nodded grimly. "You think he's been working with someone inside?"
"Or above," Echo replied. "The Council's more fractured than they pretend."
There was a knock.
Nerya pushed the door open and slipped inside.
"They've bugged your bedframe, your mirror, and your ink bottles," she said without preamble. "Oh, and the walls are listening."
Echo raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too."
They moved to the Red Library—a secret wing accessible only through a fire-marked passage Kael had discovered weeks ago.
It had no windows. No enchantments.
No spies.
Only books, stone, and silence.
"I've seen this before," Nerya said, pulling out a crumpled map. "Soren used to do this in old Core cities. Move in, destabilize the heir, play the 'moderate' while eroding their autonomy. And then he replaces them—quietly."
Kael leaned over the table. "He wants Emberhold for himself."
"No," Echo said. "He wants me."
That made them both pause.
Nerya blinked. "What do you mean?"
Echo held the shard again. "The Void chose me. Or I survived it. And that means something. It changed me."
She looked up. "They know it. And they're scared."
Kael's expression darkened. "Then let's give them a reason."
But Echo wasn't smiling.
Instead, she looked at Kael like she was seeing something new. Or remembering something old.
"You've always known how they think," she said slowly. "Even before you met me. Why?"
Kael stiffened.
His jaw clenched.
"Because…" he began, then stopped.
Echo stepped closer. "Kael?"
He looked down.
Then back at her.
And said it.
"Because my family was destroyed by the Cold Council."
The air stilled.
Nerya sat up straighter.
Kael took a breath.
"My mother was part of a flameblood clan. One of the few not aligned with the Council. When they found out she had bonded with a Cold-blood heir—my father—they called it treason."
"They came after you?" Echo whispered.
Kael nodded. "They erased our records. Branded us unstable. My parents vanished within months. I survived because one Emberhold sympathizer smuggled me out under an alias."
He looked her dead in the eyes.
"My real name isn't Kael Vane."
Echo felt her world tilt.
"Then who are you?"
"Kael Ashryn."
The name hit her like a flamebolt.
The Ashryns were one of the ancient flamebound houses. Wiped out a decade ago after a rebellion. Their daughter—a young girl—was said to have died in the purge.
But no one had mentioned a son.
Echo stepped back, stunned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Kael's voice was bitter. "Because I thought if I stayed hidden, I could fix things quietly. Now I see… hiding just gave them more power."
Nerya looked between them. "Wait—if Soren's here because of her, what if Kael's lineage is the real threat to the Council?"
Echo's mind raced.
"Two heirs," she whispered. "One forged by flame. One erased by ice."
"Both dangerous," Kael said.
That changed everything.
But it also explained everything.
Why the Council was nervous.
Why Soren came in person.
Why Echo's flame felt hotter lately, faster, angrier.
Because it wasn't just a battle for power anymore.
It was a war over truth.
And bloodlines.
Later that night, Echo sat alone in the old war room, watching old maps burn under a blue-glass lantern. Her fingers traced the edge of the ember crystal.
She heard footsteps behind her.
"Soren," she said before he even spoke.
The man stopped, amused. "I didn't realize I'd become so predictable."
She turned. "You're not. I just know snakes when I hear them."
He chuckled and stepped into the light. "I remember when you were ten. Stubborn. Angry. Wild. Your father tried so hard to tame you."
"He failed."
Soren smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "He didn't need to. You're doing just fine, all on your own."
He let that hang.
Echo didn't blink. "You here to threaten me again?"
"On the contrary." He placed a scroll on the table. "I'm here to offer you something."
She unrolled it.
It was a contract.
Binding.
Council-sealed.
"Marry into the Council," Soren said smoothly. "Bind your flame. Stabilize your House. You'll be untouchable."
Echo's heart hammered.
She looked at the name on the document.
Not Soren.
Kael.
Her eyes snapped up. "What is this?"
Soren's smile was sharp.
"A test. To see where your loyalties lie."