The circle of the riders closed in, their torches flickering like a fiery halo around the clearing. Shadows stretched across the cracked stones, swallowing the faint glow at Elara's feet.
Kai stepped forward, his sword glinting in the torchlight, poised and ready for action.
Seren pressed close to Elara, her breath coming in quick gasps. "There are too many," she whispered, fear lacing her voice.
Elara's heart raced. Her training as a princess had revolved around diplomacy, history, and the art of courtly grace, not this. Yet her father's distant, aching voice echoed in her mind: A crown is not worn in comfort, Elara. It is carried through fire.
The silver-haired man raised his hand, and the riders froze. His gaze lingered on Elara, assessing, hungry. "Child of ashes," he said, his words curling like smoke. "You can end this without bloodshed. Kneel. Swear fealty to the new order, and you may yet live."
Every instinct screamed at her to submit. To buy time. To survive. But as her eyes flicked to Seren, terrified and clinging to her. And to Kai, standing resolute in the face of certain death, something within her ignited, burning hotter than fear.
"I will never kneel to traitors," Elara declared, lifting her chin defiantly. Her voice trembled, but it rang out clear across the clearing. "Not while Eldoria still draws breath."
The man's smile faded. "So be it."
He dropped his hand. The riders surged forward.
Steel clashed as Kai met the first with a fierce strike, his blade flashing. Sparks flew as he parried blow after blow, moving with lethal precision. Yet for every rider he pushed back, two more closed in.
"Elara, run!" he shouted over the chaos.
But running was no longer an option. Elara's fingers tightened around her dagger's hilt. She dashed toward Seren, pushing her behind a fallen stone. "Stay low. Don't move until I call you."
"Elara!"
"Do it!"
The dagger felt almost comically light in her hand, especially when compared to the heavy swords of the riders. But when one of them lunged at her, instinct kicked in. She ducked under his strike and swung her blade wildly. It grazed his arm, not a deep cut, but enough to make him stagger back, cursing.
Her heart raced. She had drawn blood. I can do this.
Across the clearing, Kai fought like a tempest, but even he stumbled as another rider attacked from behind. Elara's heart skipped a beat, then she acted on impulse. Grabbing a fallen torch, she threw it at the assailant. Flames erupted on his cloak, forcing him to stumble into the trees.
Kai turned to her, their eyes locking. For a brief moment, she saw shock in his gaze, then something fiercer, more primal.
"Elara!" he shouted. "Stay with me!"
But the riders were regrouping, closing in. The silver-haired leader stood back, arms crossed, observing as if he were testing her. "Yes," he murmured, just loud enough for Elara to hear. "There is fire in you after all."
Her stomach twisted. Why did his words feel less like a threat and more like a prophecy coming to life?
A sudden scream pulled her focus. Seren. One of the riders had broken away from the fight, charging toward the stone where she was hiding.
"No!" Elara screamed.
She sprinted forward, her body acting on instinct. Her dagger plunged into the rider's side. He gasped, eyes wide with shock, before collapsing at her feet.
Elara stumbled back, hands trembling, the dagger slick with blood. Her first kill.
Seren grabbed her arm, tears streaming down her face. "Elara…"
But there was no time to process. The battle continued, and Kai was struggling, sweat and blood marring his face.
"Elara!" he yelled. "The stone, use the stone!"
Her eyes darted to the cracked slab in the center of the clearing, where a faint ember pulsed. Heat radiated from it, beckoning her. She recalled the prophecy's words: From fire you were born, to fire you shall return.
Her throat tightened. If she touched it, what would happen?
The silver-haired man's voice sliced through the chaos, sharp as a knife. "Yes, child. Embrace it. Embrace your birthright and let the fire consume you!"
Her hand hovered over the ember, the heat searing her skin even from a few inches away. All around her, steel clashed, screams echoed, and blood soaked the ground.
If she did nothing, they would all perish.
If she touched it, she might bring about their doom.
Elara shut her eyes. Then, with a cry that erupted from deep within her, she pressed her palm against the ember.
Flames erupted.
A wave of fire surged through the clearing, blinding, searing, alive. The riders screamed as the inferno engulfed them, their torches snuffed out in a rush of heat.
Elara's vision blurred, her body shaking as if every vein was filled with molten light. She gasped and pulled her hand back, but the ember was no longer dim. It pulsed brightly, alive, as if her touch had awakened something that had been sleeping for ages.
When the fire subsided, only ashes remained where the riders had once stood. All except for one.
The silver-haired man remained at the edge of the clearing, untouched. His smile grew wider, his eyes sparkling with victory.
"Yes," he murmured. "The child of ashes has awakened."
Elara stumbled back, her chest heaving, the weight of her actions crashing down on her.
Kai caught her before she fell, his arms strong yet shaking. "Elara, what have you unleashed?"
Elara gripped his arm tightly, her breath coming in quick gasps, the acrid taste of smoke lingering on her tongue. Her hands shook, faint flickers of fire dancing at her fingertips before they vanished. The sight twisted her stomach in knots. She was no longer just the hunted princess, she had transformed into something entirely different. Something perilous.
From the shadows of the treeline, the silver-haired man's laughter rang out, deep and assured. "This is just the beginning. Burn bright, child of ashes. Burn bright."