The air reeked of smoke and iron as Lira crouched behind a jagged rock, her breath shallow, her fingers curled around the hilt of a dagger she hadn’t used in years. The village behind her was a smoldering ruin, its thatched roofs reduced to blackened skeletons. She could still hear the screams—not just the people, but the beasts the Iron Order had unleashed, their howls slicing through the night like broken glass. Her chest tightened. She had promised to protect them. Instead, she’d fled, leaving everything behind.
A twig snapped nearby. Lira froze, her pulse a drumbeat in her ears. She didn’t need to look to know it was Kael, the hunter who’d found her two nights ago, half-dead in the woods. He’d saved her then, though she hadn’t trusted him. Not at first. But now, with the Order’s soldiers closing in, he was all she had left.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, his voice low, almost a growl. He crouched beside her, his dark cloak blending with the shadows. His eyes—sharp and amber-brown—flicked to the gash on her arm, where blood seeped through the torn sleeve of her tunic. Lira shook her head. “It’s nothing.” A lie. The wound throbbed, a dull ache that reminded her of the fire she’d tried to summon earlier, the one that had died in her hands.
Kael didn’t argue. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a strip of cloth, pressing it against her arm. His touch was firm, unyielding. “We need to move. They’ll be here within the hour.” His words were clipped, but there was something else in his tone—concern, maybe? Lira didn’t know. She’d learned not to trust people who cared.
The forest around them was silent, too still. Even the birds had vanished. Lira tightened her grip on the dagger. “What if they find us?” Her voice was barely a whisper, but Kael heard it.
“Then we fight.” He stood, his stance broad, his hand resting on the hilt of his own blade. “But first, we need to find the Ember.” His eyes darkened. “If it’s still there.”
Lira’s stomach twisted. The Ember of Aetheria—the heart of their world, the source of all magic—was supposed to be safe, hidden deep in the mountains. But rumors had spread that the Iron Order had found a way to track it, to corrupt its power. If they reached it first… Lira didn’t want to think about what would happen.
She pushed herself to her feet, wincing as pain shot through her arm. “Then we move.”
They didn’t speak again until they reached the edge of the forest, where the trees thinned and the sky stretched wide and empty. The mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks shrouded in mist. Lira’s breath caught. She’d never seen them up close. They looked like giants, their jagged faces carved by time and wind.
“That’s it,” Kael said, his voice low. “The pass. If we can make it through, we’ll be safe.”
“For now,” Lira muttered. She didn’t believe in safety. Not anymore.
They moved quickly, their boots crunching over loose gravel. The air grew colder, the wind biting through her tunic. Lira pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, her mind racing. What if the Ember wasn’t there? What if the Order had already taken it? The thought made her stomach churn.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Kael said, his eyes on the path ahead. “What’s on your mind?”
Lira hesitated. She didn’t want to talk about it. About the fire she couldn’t control, the power that had once been hers and now felt like a stranger. “What if we’re too late?” she asked finally.
Kael didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was quiet, almost reverent. “Then we’ll find another way.”
Lira frowned. “Another way?”
“Yes.” He glanced at her, his expression unreadable. “Magic isn’t just about the Ember. It’s in the world, in the stones, in the air. We just have to learn how to listen.”
She wanted to laugh. How could he say that? After everything? But something in his tone made her pause. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was more to magic than she’d ever known.
They reached the pass just as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of crimson and gold. The air was thick with tension, as if the mountain itself was holding its breath. Lira’s hand drifted to the dagger at her side, her fingers brushing the hilt. She didn’t know what awaited them beyond the pass, but she knew one thing—she couldn’t go back.
“Stay close,” Kael said, his voice barely above a whisper. “And whatever you do, don’t let them see your eyes.”
Lira nodded, her heart pounding. The mountain called to her, its silence heavy with secrets. And she was ready to face whatever lay ahead.
