"Betrayal doesn't whisper. It scorches."
---
LYRA
The body lay at the foot of an old root tree, twisted like it had tried to crawl away before death came.
Blood soaked the earth in a black circle.
But what made my stomach churn… was the mark carved into his chest.
Not a wolf symbol.
> Mine.
Or rather, my flame sigil.
Burned crudely across his skin.
Like a warning.
---
Kairo stood still beside me, fists clenched, jaw tight.
"This wasn't a message," he said. "It was a signature."
I shook my head.
"I didn't do this."
"I know," he growled. "But whoever did wants us to believe you did."
---
Ren knelt beside the body.
"It's Felix," he said quietly. "He was one of the barrier guards. Trusted."
"Clearly not enough," Kairo muttered.
---
Something pulsed inside me.
Not the mark.
Something deeper.
Like my blood was heating from the inside.
> Wrong.
Violation.
Trap.
The whispers weren't voices, not exactly — just instincts screaming louder than reason.
---
I stumbled back, pressing a hand to the nearest tree to steady myself.
And that's when it happened.
---
The tree caught fire.
---
Not a spark.
Not a flicker.
But full flame — erupting from the bark like it had waited centuries to burn.
Ren jumped back, swearing. Kairo rushed toward me, grabbing my wrist.
"Lyra!"
"I didn't do that!" I cried out.
But even I didn't sound like I believed it.
---
KAIRO
Her eyes were glowing.
Not metaphorically — glowing.
Gold bleeding into crimson.
And for the first time… I wasn't sure if she was fully in control.
---
I pulled her close, voice low and firm.
"Look at me. Focus."
Her breath came in ragged gasps. Her skin was burning hot.
"I don't know what's happening to me," she whispered.
I brushed my thumb against her jaw.
"You're reacting. That's all. To danger. To betrayal. To blood."
"I can't be around them if this keeps happening."
"Then you'll be around me."
---
She blinked.
"Even if I lose control again?"
I leaned closer, forehead nearly touching hers.
> "Then I'll be the one to catch you.
Every damn time."
---
LYRA
I wanted to believe him.
God, I wanted to believe him more than anything.
But the heat inside me was changing. Sharpening.
It wasn't just power.
It was memory.
And some part of me was starting to remember what I'd once done with it.
---
Kairo turned to Ren.
"Lock down the outer border. Double patrols. And bring me Vren."
Ren hesitated. "The healer?"
Kairo's eyes darkened.
"She's the one who marked Felix in last night's ledger.
Said she saw him heading for the caves."
I blinked.
"I thought the caves were restricted."
"They are," Kairo said grimly. "Which means she lied."
---
Later That Night...
I sat in Kairo's room, curled on the window seat as he paced the room like a caged storm.
Every few minutes, he'd glance at me — like he wasn't sure I was real.
Or maybe like he was trying not to do something reckless again.
Finally, I broke the silence.
"You regret kissing me?"
He stopped.
Slowly turned.
And then he crossed the room in two strides, standing directly in front of me.
> "I regret not doing it sooner."
---
He knelt down, eyes level with mine.
"I know everything's burning around us. I know we shouldn't."
He cupped my face, gentle this time.
"But I also know this — you're mine.
Even if it gets us both killed."
---
I kissed him.
Slower this time.
Like I was telling a secret with my mouth.
And he kissed me back like he already knew it…
and would die keeping it safe.