LYRA
She looked so much like Seraphine, it made my stomach twist.
Same sharp cheekbones. Same fire in her eyes. But where Seraphine had felt ancient… this one felt wild. Feral.
"Who are you?" I asked, voice tight.
Her lips curved in a soft, cruel smile.
> "Call me Vespera."
She stepped closer — still behind the boundary line, but her energy licked against mine like smoke through cracks.
> "You think you're her heir, little flame?"
"You're not even half of her yet."
---
The mark on my chest flared hot.
And suddenly the ground felt unstable beneath my feet.
"She was my mother," I said, trying to stay steady. "That much I know."
Vespera's eyes glinted.
> "Do you?
Because Seraphine had two daughters.
One she trained…
And one she hid."
---
I froze.
> "Which one am I?"
She smirked.
> "That's what makes you dangerous, child.
Even you don't know what you're capable of yet."
---
A twig snapped behind me.
I turned—
And Kairo stepped out of the trees, teeth clenched, golden eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
He had followed me.
And he did not look calm.
---
"Back away from her," he growled to Vespera.
She didn't even blink. "Still trying to play Alpha, little prince?"
His body shifted slightly — not fully wolf, just enough that his energy crackled through the clearing.
"I won't say it again."
---
Vespera laughed, low and melodic. "Careful, Alpha.
You might lose her the more you try to hold her."
And then — she disappeared.
Just like that.
Smoke and silence.
---
KAIRO
The moment she vanished, I stormed toward Lyra, heart still pounding.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I hissed.
"I didn't go far," she snapped. "And I didn't ask to be followed."
"You're outside the wards. Alone. With her."
I grabbed her shoulders — not hard, but firm. She was shaking.
Not from fear.
From fury.
> "She said Seraphine had two daughters."
I nodded, quiet. "I heard."
Lyra's voice broke.
> "What if I'm not the one meant to wear the flame?"
I looked at her.
All of her.
The mark. The trembling lips. The haunted strength in her eyes.
---
And I couldn't stop myself.
I cupped her cheek.
> "Then let her wear the flame," I whispered.
"But I'd still choose you."
---
She blinked, wide-eyed.
I could feel her breath against my mouth.
Our faces were inches apart.
So close I could feel her pulse.
So close I could kiss her.
And god, I almost did.
---
But then she pulled back.
Just a fraction.
Enough to remind me: she's not mine.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
---
She turned away, voice quieter.
> "She said I'm dangerous."
I stepped closer again, not touching, just there.
> "You are," I said.
"But not to me."
---
LYRA
Back in my room, I stood under the cold water until the shaking stopped.
And still… my lips remembered how close he had been.
How badly I had wanted him to close the distance.
---
But worse than that?
How badly I had wanted to burn everything else down if he didn't.