The fire danced from Elara's hands like a wild tempest. It spiraled upward, crafting wings of light that bathed the forest in hues of gold and crimson. The hunters stood frozen at the edge of the clearing, blinded and filled with dread.
Kai stepped in front of her, his blade raised, but the heat radiating from her made the air shimmer.
"Elara!" he yelled. "You need to control it!"
"I'm trying!" Her voice was ragged, caught between fury and fear. "They won't stop!"
The first arrows flew, hissing as they approached her, turning to ash before they could hit. The next barrage never even left the hunters' bows; the strings snapped from the sheer heat.
Elara's heartbeat thundered in her ears. The fire pulsed with her emotions, responding to her terror and rage. It felt exhilarating, almost too much like something ancient within her had been waiting for this moment.
The whispers returned, soft yet commanding. Let it flow. Let them burn.
"No," she gasped, shaking her head. "Not again."
Kai's hand gripped her wrist, anchoring her. His voice was calm, close to her ear. "Elara, look at me. You're not her. You're not the queen from your visions. You're you."
For a heartbeat, the fire wavered. Flickering, uncertain.
Then a shout rang out from beyond the trees. The lead hunter, wearing the broken-crown helm of House Vael, stepped through the flames. His armor smoked, but he stood firm.
"Elara of Eldoria!" His voice boomed over the fire. "By decree of the New Crown, your blood is condemned! Surrender, and your death will be swift."
Elara's hands trembled. "The New Crown?"
Kai's jaw clenched. "Vael has taken the throne."
The realization hit her harder than the fire's heat. Her family's betrayers now ruled in her stead. Everything her father had built was gone, replaced by ashes.
She lifted her chin defiantly. "Then come and take me."
The lead hunter charged. Elara raised her hands, but Kai was quicker. He met the man halfway, steel clashing against steel, sparks flying. The air crackled with the sound of their battle.
Seren ducked behind the remnants of the statue, gripping a dagger that felt far too small for a real fight. "Elara, don't lose yourself!" she shouted.
But it was already too late. The whispers surged once more, louder, clearer.
You are the flame reborn. The queen who refuses to kneel. Burn away their lies.
Elara's eyes blazed with a golden fire. The flames flowed from her hands, gliding like liquid sunlight across the ground. It didn't act like destruction; it moved with purpose, bending, choosing, striking wherever she focused.
The hunters screamed as their own torches turned against them, the flames consuming the weapons they held.
Kai stumbled back, shielding his face. "Elara! Enough! You'll kill us all!"
She tried to rein it in, she desperately wanted to stop, but the power wouldn't listen. It had its own insatiable hunger now, its own rhythm.
The ghostly voice chuckled softly in her mind. Fire takes what it's owed.
"Elara!" Kai's voice felt distant now, fading beneath the chaos. "Listen to me"
Then a cold shock pierced her chest, not fire this time, but steel.
An arrow.
She looked down in disbelief as the shaft protruded just below her collarbone. The fire wavered. The world tilted.
Kai caught her before she could fall, pulling her back behind the shattered statue. Seren was there, her hands already pressed against the wound. "No, no, stay with us"
Elara's vision blurred. The heat within her flickered, desperate, fading.
But beneath the pain, she sensed another warmth, not her own. The First Flame's voice whispered again, softer now, almost gentle.
The crown will rise from your pain, child. But first, you must burn away your fear.
Her blood ignited. Golden fire erupted from the wound, sealing it shut, leaving no trace. Kai stumbled back, eyes wide in shock.
"Elara," he breathed. "You, what are you?"
She met his gaze, her own eyes glowing faintly like molten gold. "I don't know. But I think she's waking up."
The forest fell silent. The remaining hunters fled, abandoning their torches in sheer terror.
When the last of them disappeared, Elara sank down, feeling the weight of everything shift.
Kai knelt beside her, gently brushing the soot from her cheek. "You saved us. Again."
She let out a soft laugh, though it trembled in her throat. "Or maybe I've doomed us. Word will get out now, the lost princess lives, and she's a firestarter."
Seren took a shaky breath. "Then perhaps it's time for them to remember what your family really stood for."
Elara gazed toward the horizon, where a faint light began to seep into the sky, dawn was breaking. For the first time, she didn't see destruction in its glow. She saw hope. Yet deep down, beneath that delicate optimism, the First Flame whispered once more.
The fire has only just begun.
Elara's eyes were fixed on the dawn as it broke over the horizon. The light splashed across the landscape in fiery reds and soft pinks, almost taunting her. "It's odd," she murmured. "All this devastation, yet it's so beautiful."
Kai frowned, his expression serious. "Beauty that comes from destruction isn't true beauty, Elara. It's a warning."
She held his gaze, her voice calm but firm. "Perhaps. Or maybe it signifies rebirth."
He regarded her with a mix of uncertainty and belief, as if he couldn't decide whether to be afraid or to trust her. The air around them buzzed with unspoken feelings, loyalty, desire, and a fear neither of them dared to voice.
Seren hurriedly gathered supplies from the hunters' camp. "We can't linger here. If word gets out, they'll send more after us."
Elara nodded, still somewhat entranced by the warmth of the fire that lingered on her skin. "Then we head east, across the river. No one will think to look for us near the ruins."
Kai adjusted his blade on his shoulder. "The ruins?"
"Yes," Elara replied, a subtle, knowing smile playing on her lips. "Where the first flame ignited. If she's truly awakening within me… that's where our journey to the truth begins."
As they stepped into the morning mist, the embers they left behind whispered softly, glowing faintly long after they had vanished.