Chapter 12: The Fire Between Us
Kael didn't ask again.
He just looked at me—his eyes a storm of worry, love, and something else he rarely let show.
Doubt.
We sat beside each other in silence, back in our shared chamber. The walls flickered with soft candlelight, dancing like our unspoken fears.
"You've been different lately," he said finally, voice low. "Quieter. Like you're drifting somewhere I can't follow."
I swallowed hard.
"I don't mean to," I said. "It's just… there's something I have to understand. Something inside me that won't stay quiet anymore."
He looked down at his hands, calloused from training. "Is it dangerous?"
"I don't know."
I wanted to say yes. I wanted to admit that every time the flame inside me stirred, it felt less like a gift and more like a warning.
But I didn't.
Because I didn't want to scare him.
Because part of me was scared too.
---
Later that night, after Kael had fallen asleep with his hand still lightly holding mine, I sat up and stared out the window.
The moon was high again.
And this time, it didn't whisper.
It called.
---
I left the chamber quietly, heart pounding with guilt and anticipation. The air outside was cooler than before, filled with a strange stillness, like the whole world was holding its breath.
The moment I stepped beyond the temple walls, I felt it.
A tug in my chest. Gentle at first, then firmer.
Leading me.
Not north, toward the village.
But east.
Toward the forgotten ruins.
---
I reached them just before dawn.
Broken pillars rose like ancient bones from the earth. Moss and vines covered the ground, but the center of the ruin pulsed faintly—with warmth.
As I stepped closer, the flame inside me woke up.
And then…
The world shifted.
---
Suddenly, I wasn't in the ruins anymore.
I stood in a realm of fire and glass, where the sky bled gold and red, and the ground beneath me shimmered like molten stone.
Figures stood all around.
Cloaked in robes of fire.
Their faces hidden, but their presence undeniable.
One stepped forward.
A woman.
Tall. Radiant. Her eyes glowed with twin suns, and her voice echoed both like thunder and lullabies.
> "Welcome, Daughter of Flame."
I tried to speak—but the heat was overwhelming.
Not physical heat—but truth.
She stepped closer, touching my forehead with one burning fingertip.
Suddenly—
> I saw myself.
Not just who I was now.
But every version I had ever been.
A child alone in the woods.
A warrior holding a dying friend.
A girl clutching a spark in her chest, terrified of what it might become.
> "You have been chosen not because you are strong," the woman said.
"But because you have survived."
I trembled.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Her voice softened.
> "You will decide whether the flame will save… or destroy."
---
And just like that—
I was back.
In the ruins.
Gasping.
Alone.
Except… I wasn't.
Kael stood at the edge of the stone circle, staring at me like he'd seen a ghost.
"Luna…" he whispered. "What is this place?"
I didn't have the words.
Not yet.
But I knew one thing—
Whatever was coming… I couldn't face it without him.
---
To be continued…