Chapter 8: The Council of Elders
The storm had passed, but the mountain was still cloaked in mist.
Lucian stood at the edge of the Elder's Peak an ancient, weatherworn fortress that crowned the world's spine. Behind him, Aria stood cloaked and hooded, hidden from the sight of those who would condemn her.
"This is a mistake," she murmured.
"They need to see you," Lucian said. "They need to understand."
"They'll want to kill me."
"I won't let them."
Arrival at the Peak
The Keep's warriors remained at the base, only Lucian and Aria climbed to the summit. The stairway spiraled through jagged cliffs, flanked by obsidian spires and ancient runes that shimmered with forgotten magic.
At the top, twelve robed figures awaited them in a circle. The Council of Elders one representative from each shifter and vampire lineage. Bound by truce. Shackled by tradition.
The air was thin, and power thrummed in every stone of the courtyard.
The Head Elder, a tall silver-haired woman named Maeryn, stepped forward. Her voice echoed like thunder.
"Lucian Nightshade," she said. "You bring an outlaw to our sacred ground."
"She is no outlaw," Lucian replied. "She is the Reborn Flame. She saved the realm once. She may yet save it again."
Maeryn's eyes narrowed. "Or doom us all anew."
Aria's Reveal
Aria stepped forward and lowered her hood. Her crimson hair shimmered in the light of the twin moons. Her eyes, once golden, now burned with fire and memory.
Gasps rippled through the Council.
"She bears the mark," one vampire Elder whispered.
"She should not exist," growled a wolf shifter with scars across his chest. "She died. We saw her burn."
"I did burn," Aria said, voice strong despite the tension. "But I returned. And I remember who I was. What I did."
She paused, meeting each gaze unflinching.
"And what I must do now."
Ancient Disputes Reignite
Another Elder, lean with serpent tattoos coiled over his dark skin, hissed, "The Flame was meant to remain buried. She walks against fate."
"She is fate," said Lucian.
"Blasphemy," the serpent-man muttered.
An old werebear slammed his fist into the stone. "What's done is done. The girl lives. The bond is real. What we must ask now is she safe?"
Maeryn turned to Aria. "You wield fire again. Is it under control?"
"I'm still learning," Aria said truthfully. "But I haven't lost myself."
A vampire Elder sneered. "Yet. But what happens when her memories finish awakening? When the rage from her old life overwhelms her?"
"I am not the same girl," Aria said. "And I am not your enemy."
Lucian's Oath
Lucian moved beside her, eyes burning with alpha authority.
"I swore my life to protect her. If she falls to the old ways, I will end it myself."
The Elders murmured.
"Would you truly kill your mate?"
Aria stiffened, her throat tightening.
"If it saved the world?" Lucian said, gaze unwavering. "Yes."
She wanted to hate him for saying it but she couldn't. Because in her soul, she knew he meant it.
Prophecy Unearthed
An old vampire stepped forward ancient beyond reckoning, blind in both eyes, but humming with power. His voice was soft, like silk over steel.
"Speak, Elder Daelus," Maeryn said.
"I saw it in the blood runes," Daelus rasped. "The Rebirth. The Flame. The Red Eclipse. And the choice of two paths"
Aria stepped closer. "What choice?"
"One path ends in salvation. The other in fire without end. You must find the origin of your power, child. The temple in the Ashen Vale. And there, face what you were... and what you will become."
Lucian's eyes widened. "That place is cursed."
"It is truth," Daelus said. "Truth cannot be cursed. Only buried."
Maeryn's Judgment
The Head Elder raised her staff.
"You will go to the Vale," Maeryn decreed. "Seek the temple. Awaken the truth. But know this"
She turned her piercing gaze to Aria. "If you do not return with proof that you can control what you are, then we will hunt you. No one will stop us. Not even him."
She glanced at Lucian.
"I wouldn't expect you to," Aria whispered. "You're right to fear me. I fear myself, too."
"But I am not done fighting for control. Not yet."
Departure and a Hidden Threat
As they descended from the Peak, Maeryn called after them.
"You leave with our forbearance. Not our blessing. We will be watching."
Aria nodded.
"I'd expect nothing less."
The air grew colder as they descended. Snow flurried in their wake. Far above, the Council watched in silence.
But neither Lucian nor Aria noticed the raven perched on the highest spire, its eyes glowing with red flame. It took wing, vanishing into the clouds, carrying word of the Reborn Flame to someone who had long awaited this day…
Far to the east, in the frostbitten ruins of Blackmoor Keep, a shadow stirred.
"She lives," the voice rasped. "And so the fire burns again."