Morning came with heavy fog, the kind that muted sound and cloaked movement. The Shaman's shrine was still, though tension lingered like smoke from an unseen fire.
Hana practiced at the clearing alone, guiding flickers of foxfire through slow, careful motions. The flame was behaving now—calm, obedient. But her thoughts were anything but.
Why did I make that vow? Who was I protecting?
And if Taemin was part of it… why does it feel like my heart remembers him more than my mind does?
A sharp rustle in the trees pulled her from the spiral.
Taemin appeared beside her in an instant, eyes alert, ears twitching.
"We're not alone," he said.
An arrow whistled through the fog—and grazed Taemin's cheek before embedding in the shrine's stone.
Hana yelped. "That wasn't random."
From the treetops, a figure dropped in silence: hooded, masked, and cloaked in grey. Another soon followed. Then another.
Three fox spirits—none she recognized.
"Step away from the girl," the first one said, voice deep and cold. "She is Flamebound. Her power threatens balance."
Taemin stepped in front of her. "She is mine to protect."
"That's precisely the problem."
Hana felt the heat swell in her palms again, but Taemin raised a hand, warning her to stay back.
"They're not corrupted," he said quietly. "But they are bound to the old fox laws. The kind that believes a Flamebearer should not exist without council sanction."
"We gave you time, Prince Yun," the leader said. "But now, with the Crimson Fang stirring—"
Taemin's voice turned to ice. "You don't get to speak his name."
A flicker of fury danced in the leader's eyes. "You would defy your own bloodline for a human girl?"
"She is not just a girl. She is the key to ending this war—again."
The leader raised his bow. "Then let us test if she is worth the chaos she brings."
He fired.
But the arrow never hit.
Because Hana—without thinking—had raised her hand and caught it in midair. The flame surged from her palm like a whip, wrapping around the arrow and shattering it to ash.
Even the fox spirits paused.
She stepped forward.
"I don't remember everything," she said, voice steady. "But if I made a vow to protect this world—then I'm going to start acting like it."
The flame around her hand crackled to life.
"You want to test me? Fine. But I'm not afraid anymore."
The fog thinned. The fox spirits exchanged glances.
Then, without another word, they vanished into the forest—silent as ghosts.
Taemin turned to her, half in awe.
"You just challenged a Royal Foxhunter squad."
Hana panted, adrenaline still rushing. "They shot you. I reacted."
"Remind me never to piss you off."
She gave him a look. "Too late."
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