(Ren Kaien POV)
The fire hasn't gone out since the chamber.
It's been three nights. Three nights since she unleashed that impossible white flame, pure, untainted, divine, and it's still burning somewhere under my skin.
Every time I close my eyes, I see her standing there: Lián Xinyue, wrapped in light, eyes wide with terror and something fiercer. Every time I breathe, I swear I can still smell her fire, not smoke or ash, but something sharp and clean, like lightning striking silk.
And I can't forget the way she looked at me after.
Not as a prince. Not as her jailer.
But as if I were part of the same storm that terrified her.
The council chamber of the Ember Palace is all obsidian and firelight, beautiful, cold, and suffocating. My father sits on the throne at the far end, face carved from stone, surrounded by ministers dressed in flame-colored robes.
I stand at the center, back straight, pretending my heart isn't still racing from dreams that don't belong to me.
"She summoned what?" Minister Tao slams a hand on the table, rings flashing. "That kind of power hasn't been seen since."
"The Hollow Flame," finishes the High Seer, her voice a rasp of smoke. "The bloodline has awakened again."
My father's gaze cuts toward me. "And you witnessed this?"
"Yes," I say evenly. "The murals responded to her, not me. The chamber nearly collapsed."
"And you protected her," he says, not quite a question.
I hesitate a heartbeat too long.
The Seer's eyes narrow. "Your aura was intertwined when the guards found you. Her flame clung to you as if marked."
A chill crawls up my neck. "It was a reaction, not a mark."
But even as I say it, I can still feel the faint warmth on my wrist where her flame touched me. A faint, silvery sigil remains there, a small spiral of light that refuses to fade.
"Reaction or not," my father says, voice like iron, "you will distance yourself from her. The girl is dangerous."
"She saved my life," I counter before I can stop myself.
The council stirs, whispers, shock, disapproval.
"Your life is not the question, Prince Kaien," my father says. "The stability of the throne is. If the Hollow Flame truly stirs, she could ignite the same war that broke the empire a thousand years ago."
He leans forward. "Do not let her pull you into her blaze."
After the council, I find myself wandering the palace grounds. The gardens are lit by ember lanterns, glowing low against the mist. My sword still hangs at my side, habit more than need.
She's there, of course.
Standing alone by the fountain, hair loose, white robes faintly illuminated by the lanterns. She doesn't hear me approach, too lost in her thoughts. Her fingers brush the water's surface, sending ripples that shimmer like liquid flame.
"Did they scold you again?" she asks softly, without turning.
I freeze. "You knew I was here."
"I felt it," she says, looking over her shoulder. "Your fire hums differently when you're angry."
"That's… unsettling."
"Useful, though." She smiles faintly. "Means you can't sneak up on me."
I move closer, slower than I mean to. "You shouldn't be outside the quarters after curfew."
"You shouldn't be, either, Your Highness."
I almost smile. "Touché."
For a moment, the silence between us feels fragile, almost warm. Then she asks, "What did the council say?"
I exhale, the words bitter in my mouth. "That you're a threat. That I should stay away."
Her expression hardens. "So they'll fear me before they even try to understand me."
"That's what fear does," I murmur. "Burns reason first."
She tilts her head, studying me. "And what do you believe?"
That question shouldn't feel like a blade to the ribs, but it does.
I take a step closer, close enough that the faint warmth from her skin reaches mine. "I believe you shouldn't exist," I admit quietly. "But I also believe I don't want you gone."
Her breath catches, a small sound that ruins me.
The mark on my wrist glows faintly. She notices. "You still have it."
"It won't fade."
"Then maybe it's meant to stay."
I shake my head, tension pulling through my shoulders. "If the priests see it, they'll think you've bound me."
"Did I?" she asks, voice soft. "Or did you let me?"
For a heartbeat, I can't breathe.
The night hums around us, flameflies hovering near the water, wind stirring the lanterns. She steps closer until only inches separate us. I can see the faint light in her irises, the fire that answers mine.
"Lián Xinyue," I whisper, her name feeling too sacred for the air.
Her hand lifts slightly, tentative, hesitant, and hovers just above my chest, over the mark. The air between us trembles with restrained heat.
"I didn't mean to bind you," she says.
"I know."
"But I don't regret it either."
The words hit harder than they should.
For a second, I think she'll pull away. Instead, she stays. The faint shimmer of our magic connects, two opposing flames twining like breath. I can feel her heartbeat through the bond, wild and real.
Then.
A sharp crack splits the air. The lanterns flicker, the flameflies scatter.
From the far edge of the garden, shadow rises, black fire curling into the shape of a wraith.
I draw my sword instantly. "Get back!"
Xinyue spins, her palms already glowing white. The wraith lunges, shrieking, claws made of smoke and heat. I move without thought, blade slicing through its form. But the creature reforms behind her, faster.
She whirls, flame bursting from her hand, striking it dead center. It screams, dissolving into ash.
The silence that follows is deafening.
She's breathing hard, light flickering across her skin. My pulse is still racing when I realize she's shaking.
I sheath my sword and step forward slowly. "You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
"Xinyue." My voice softens. I reach for her hand. The edge of her palm is burned, faint, but real. "You overextended again."
"I had to," she whispers. "You would've."
Before she finishes, I touch her wrist, channeling a thread of my fire. Healing warmth seeps into her skin, closing the burn.
Her breath stutters. "Kaien."
"Don't talk," I say quietly. "Just breathe."
The world narrows to that one contact, my hand over hers, her pulse under my thumb, the faint shimmer of our magic merging again.
It shouldn't feel like this. It shouldn't feel right.
When the wound fades completely, I let go. Too quickly.
"Thank you," she murmurs.
I nod, stepping back before the heat in my chest consumes me.
But as I turn to leave, her voice stops me.
"Kaien," she says softly. "If I am the Hollow Flame… what does that make you?"
I look over my shoulder, meeting her gaze.
"The one stupid enough to stand too close," I say, and walk away before I can mean it.
That night, I dream of white fire again.
And when I wake, the mark on my wrist burns brighter than ever.