The air still smelled of fire.
Even when the wind shifted, even when the ash settled into the cracks of the ruined ground, I could taste it — bitter, alive, and unending.
Kael slept fitfully beside me. His skin burned cold, his pulse erratic, the mark on his chest flickering in sync with mine. The bond was trying to mend itself, threads of energy weaving through both of us, but it wasn't gentle. It tore and rewove, again and again, like the realm testing how much we could endure.
I pressed my palms to the soil. The warmth beneath wasn't natural. It pulsed — alive, ancient, aware.
Somewhere far to the east, the veil screamed. A soundless fracture cut through the horizon, spilling light that bled into the clouds. From its heart, shadows poured out — thin, sinewy shapes that shimmered like smoke but carried the echo of voices.
The world was waking. And it was angry.
Kael stirred with a groan, dragging my attention back to him.
His voice was rough. "You feel it too?"
"Yes."
"The Flame?"
"No," I said softly. "Everything else."
He sat up slowly, the movement strained, and when his eyes met mine, I saw it — the same flicker that had lived in my reflection since the awakening. The Flame had marked him too. Not in blood, but in essence.
"Nyra," he said, "the bond's wrong. It's—"
"I know."
"It's feeding on the realm."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. Because even as he said it, the soil beneath us split again, veins of red light spidering outward from where we sat.
Every heartbeat sent ripples through the ash, and the air bent around us like heat haze. Somewhere distant, a bell tolled — low, metallic, and heavy with warning.
The old gods were listening.
The Flame had not been the end of their silence. It was the beginning of their return.
Kael reached for me, hand trembling. "If this keeps spreading—"
"It already has," I whispered. "Listen."
From beyond the hills came the sound of movement — not wind, not animals, but something vast and coordinated. The sound of a world stirring awake after centuries of sleep.
And for the first time, I wasn't afraid of it.
I was it.