To tame the fire, she must first remember when it burned her the most.
The dreams no longer came at night.
They arrived without warning while she blinked, while she breathed, while she stood in silence too long. And this time, Ava didn't fight them.
She let the memories flood in.
Flashback One
Fifteen Years Ago
The Garden of Whispers
Isabella stood in a garden choked with black roses. Her white dress was stained with soot, her hands red with blood. Beside her knelt Vincent his expression unreadable.
"You told me we were building a new world," she said softly, voice trembling.
Vincent smiled. "We are. But a new world needs sacrifice. Pain is part of power."
She turned her back to him, hand clenched.
"But not my sister."
The memory fractured like glass.
Present
Ava woke with a gasp, clutching the blanket around her. Liam stirred beside her, murmuring her name, but she waved him off gently.
She needed air.
Downstairs, Maya was already awake sitting in a circle of candles, meditating.
"You saw her again?" Maya asked without looking.
Ava nodded. "My sister… I don't remember her name. But Vincent used me. Made me believe we were saving the world. And I let him hurt her."
Maya opened her eyes. "Then that guilt? That's the first thread of control."
Ava frowned. "Guilt?"
"Yes. Magic that comes from power alone consumes. But magic tempered by love, by remorse that's what makes it human."
Flashback Two
The Night of Fire Isabella's Final Stand
The palace burned. Screams echoed through the stone halls.
Isabella faced Vincent in the great chamber, her body glowing with golden light.
"You lied to me," she whispered. "All this time, you were never building anything. You were feeding the flame."
Vincent's eyes were cold. "I was feeding you. You were the fire, Isabella. I just showed you how to burn."
She wept as she raised her hand.
The floor cracked. Flames surged.
But Vincent smiled as the inferno rose.
"Even if you kill me," he said, "a piece of me will always be inside you."
Present
Ava fell to her knees in the garden behind Maya's house, her breath hitching. Dirt crumbled beneath her nails.
She had killed him.
And it hadn't mattered.
Because he'd buried himself inside her—like a curse. Like a seed.
"I need to remember everything," she said.
Maya knelt beside her. "Then let's begin."
Training Begins
The next few days blurred together.
Maya drew ancient runes in the air while Ava repeated them.
She lit candles by thought, then smothered the flame with breath.
She held Liam's hand while focusing her energy, learning to feel when her magic spiked… and how to pull it back before it hurt him.
It wasn't easy.
More than once, she passed out from overexertion.
Once, she screamed so hard the windows shattered.
But with each failure came more fragments
Her sister, whispering spells by moonlight.
Her mother, sealing the first rune into her skin.
Vincent, twisting it all into chains.
And every memory gave her more control.
Flashback Three
The Hidden Chamber A Memory She Never Meant to See
She stood in a small room lined with obsidian. Vincent held a knife.
She was younger. Innocent.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
She nodded.
He sliced her palm and pressed it to a rune etched in stone.
Golden light pulsed.
With that touch, a part of her power was bound to him.
A part he would use later… to return.
The vessel wasn't just random.
It was linked to the ritual.
It was her blood that opened the gate.
And only she could close it again.
Present
Ava opened her eyes tears trailing silently down her cheeks.
"I know how he came back," she whispered. "And I know how to stop him."
Maya tensed. "But it'll cost you, won't it?"
Ava nodded.
"I might have to break the last seal inside me. The one keeping the rest of the power locked away."
"Then you'll be unstoppable," Maya said.
Ava looked away. "Or inhuman."
That night, Ava stood beneath the moonlight, golden sparks dancing around her fingertips.
She wasn't afraid anymore.
But she wasn't at peace either.
Because with control came the truth.
And the truth?
She had once been a weapon.
Now she had to choose: become one again… or forge something new.