The forest welcomed them like a breathless secret, deep, damp, and humming with the memory of old magic.
Kael led her through winding trails choked with brambles and moss, the canopy above too thick for direct sunlight. What light did filter through was golden and eerie, painting Lyra's skin in pale shimmer. The Citadel was behind them now, far beyond the spires and the mirror tower, and with every step, the weight of that place seemed to fall away.
But not the fire.
Not the prophecy.
Not the mirror's warning.
Lyra walked in silence for hours, her body aching but alert, the forest unnervingly quiet. No birds. No beasts. Just the crunch of leaves beneath their boots and the occasional soft curse from Kael as he cut away vines with a small curved blade.
She noticed his hands never stopped moving, checking the wind, brushing the ground, marking the trees with faint claw-like notches. Even now, in the heart of exile, he moved like a soldier. A prince of war.
She didn't ask him how he knew the way.
Not yet.
"You've done this before," she said eventually, breaking the silence.
He didn't look back. "More times than I can count."
"Escaped?"
"Hunted."
She stopped. "You mean you were the prey?"
Kael turned, his expression unreadable. "Always."
Before she could ask more, he raised a hand, signaling her to drop low. Instinct made her crouch, heart thundering. He scanned the shadows ahead, sniffing the air like an animal tasting for danger.
Then she saw it too.
A clearing.
Not natural. Too clean. Too perfect.
And in the center of it, ashes.
The remains of a campfire, long dead, ringed with stones marked by symbols. Not the elegant, flowing script of the Ascended. This was rougher. Carved in quick slashes.
"Rebel camp?" she asked.
Kael didn't answer immediately. He knelt beside the ashes and touched two fingers to the soot. Then he smeared it between his fingers and sniffed.
"Not rebels," he muttered.
"Then who?"
He stood, muscles taut. "Hunters."
Lyra's throat tightened. "Already?"
Kael nodded grimly. "They're faster than I thought."
A twig snapped behind them.
Kael spun.
But it was too late.
A figure emerged from the trees like a wraith, silent and pale, dressed in armor laced with bone. His face was hidden beneath a hood of black linen, and in his gloved hands, he held a long, curved blade glowing faintly blue.
Aethersteel.
"Move, and she dies," the figure said.
Kael stepped in front of Lyra. "You'll have to go through me."
The figure tilted his head. "That was the idea."
More moved in behind him, three, five, seven shadows emerging from the woods. Silent. Trained. Their blades glinted with unnatural shimmer, forged for one purpose.
To kill what could not die.
To kill the Flame.
"Run," Kael whispered.
Lyra's breath caught. "No."
"You have to...."
"I said no."
He turned his head, just barely, just enough to meet her gaze. And in that moment, they understood each other, equal parts terror and defiance.
"I'm not running anymore."
The lead hunter stepped forward. "Touch her and you'll burn."
Kael didn't hesitate.
He moved like a flash of moonlight, fluid, deadly. His blade clashed with the hunter's in a hiss of metal, sparks flying. Lyra ducked, heat flaring under her skin, ready to defend herself if she had to.
But they were everywhere.
A blade sliced past her cheek. Not deep, just enough to draw blood.
It sizzled.
She cried out, clutching her face as pain bloomed white-hot. The wound didn't bleed like normal, it smoked, searing at the edges as if the blade had burned more than flesh.
Kael roared.
He threw one of the hunters back with sheer force, blade spinning in a deadly arc. His eyes, those God Eyes, were burning now, fully lit, the silver replaced with molten steel. He fought with ferocity she'd never seen, like he wasn't just defending her, but trying to erase everything that dared touch her.
Another hunter lunged. Lyra twisted.
And the fire came.
It burst from her hands with no incantation, no warning, just a scream and raw, instinctive need. It slammed into the attacker, throwing him backward, limbs flailing, armor melting.
She gasped.
Her hands were glowing. Not like embers, like stars. Her blood sang with it, fire pulsing through her veins like a second heartbeat.
But it was wild.
Untamed.
She stumbled back, breathing hard.
Kael slashed through the last standing hunter, blood steaming from his blade. The others were gone, either dead or retreated into the shadows. For now.
He turned to her, eyes wide with something close to awe. And fear.
"You're bleeding," he said, moving toward her.
Lyra touched the wound on her cheek. The skin was cracked, black around the edges, as if scorched from within.
"It's not healing," she whispered.
Kael's jaw clenched. "That's a hunter's blade. Tainted. Made to cut through power."
"They said the first cut is always the worst," came a voice from the trees.
Both of them froze.
A woman stepped into the clearing.
She wasn't dressed like a hunter. She wore robes of green and gray, long white hair braided with pieces of crystal and bone. Her eyes were clouded, milky white but Lyra felt her gaze all the same.
Kael moved in front of Lyra again. "Identify yourself."
"I am no enemy," the woman said. "If I were, you'd both be dead."
"Not reassuring," Kael muttered.
The woman smiled faintly. "I followed the fire. I felt it when she lit the forest."
Lyra swallowed. "Who are you?"
"I go by many names," the woman said. "But you may call me Soreya. And I have waited a long time to meet you, Flameborn."
Kael's blade lowered slightly. "You're a Seer."
Soreya inclined her head. "One of the last. I saw you both in a vision of ash and wings. You walk the edge of war."
Lyra stepped forward, despite the pain still licking her cheek. "Can you help us?"
Soreya's gaze, though blind, was piercing. "I can show you truths. I can teach you control. But your path won't be saved by prophecy or power alone."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What then?"
"Sacrifice," Soreya said simply. "It always comes with a price."
Lyra looked at Kael.
The cut on her cheek still burned.
The fire in her veins pulsed.
And somewhere in the distance, beyond the trees, the shadows of more hunters stirred.
She took Kael's hand.
"Then let's start learning."