The ruins were quiet now too quiet.
Raine stood in the circle of scorched stone, the ember now sealed in a silver chain around her neck, pulsing gently like a second heartbeat. Xavier hadn't left her side since the battle. His arm, wrapped in makeshift bandages, still bled faintly, but he brushed it off with a scowl when Nyra offered to stitch it again.
"We need to move," Ezekiel said, his tone sharper than usual. "That thing wasn't just a guardian. Something else knows we're here now."
Raine swallowed hard. Her skin still felt electric from the ember's magic, but her thoughts were heavy. When she closed her eyes, she saw the Watchdog's cracked mask, the blinding light inside it.
"We'll go," she said, voice steady. "But not yet."
"Why?" Xavier turned to her. "Raine, we're exposed out here."
"I know." She lifted her chin. "But I need answers. And this place is the only thing that might give me some."
Before anyone could argue, a sharp wind blew through the ruin. It shouldn't have been possible—there were no windows or doors open to the air—but it carried a scent Raine knew by heart. Jasmine and frost.
Her mother's scent.
A silver flame shimmered into being at the far end of the chamber. It flickered, then formed the outline of a woman—tall, regal, and hauntingly familiar. Her features were blurred like mist on glass, but Raine knew her.
"Mother…"
The ghost smiled faintly. "You've come far, Raine."
Everyone fell silent. Even Ezekiel bowed his head.
"I don't have long," the spirit said. "The ember has awakened. Its light stirs things that should have stayed buried."
Raine stepped forward, her voice a whisper. "What did I do?"
"What you were meant to," her mother replied. "But the ember doesn't come without cost. The Devourer is stirring, and the Council will not stand idle. You have two enemies now."
Xavier stiffened beside her. "The Council?"
"They fear what they cannot control. And you, Raine, were never meant to be controlled."
The flames flickered. Her mother turned her face slightly, as though listening to something Raine couldn't hear.
"Beware the one who smiles with teeth and speaks of peace," she said. "The traitor is already near."
Before Raine could ask what she meant, the flame collapsed into ash. Silence returned.
No one spoke for a long moment.
Then Xavier said, "We're not safe anymore."
"We never were," Raine whispered. "But now we know who's watching."
Nyra sheathed her blade. "We move at first light. But Raine… you need to decide what this ember makes you. A leader… or a target."
Raine looked down at the silver chain in her hand. The ember pulsed once, like it was listening.
And she made her choice.