Chapter 3: Flames Beneath the Skin
The village square was crowded for the festival of lanterns, but Mei Lin couldn't focus on the music or the lights. Her hands trembled, the way they always did when the dreams came too often.
She could still feel the heat from last night—flames coiling around her, not burning but... embracing.
"Are you well, child?" asked Old Liu, handing her a paper lantern.
Mei Lin nodded with a polite smile and released it into the sky. As it rose, her breath caught. A vision flashed behind her eyes—another lantern, from another life. A promise whispered beneath moonlight.
"When this flame fades, I will find you again."
Her heart skipped.
---
Far away, Fu Gui opened his eyes from meditation. The phoenix mark on his palm shimmered faintly.
"She's awakening," he said to himself.
Behind him, General Ke stepped forward. "Another surge of power?"
Fu Gui nodded. "Her flames are stirring. She doesn't know who she is yet... but soon."
"You're certain she's the one?"
"She carries the fire of the Phoenix Queen. I've seen her in dreams all my life."
General Ke hesitated. "Then we must move quickly. The old seal has cracked. The darkness under Mount Wuhen... is stirring again."
Fu Gui turned toward the open sky. "Then I have no choice. I'll find her before it finds us."
---
Back in the village, Mei Lin wandered into the forest alone, drawn by something she couldn't name.
As she reached a clearing, the wind dropped. Everything turned silent.
And from the shadows stepped a figure dressed in dark robes, his silver eyes glowing faintly.
Fu Gui.
Neither spoke. But something ancient passed between them—recognition without memory.
The flames beneath her skin flickered once more.