Written by R.E. Solcrest
---
The silence fell all at once.
Even the wind stilled, as if the forest itself had paused to listen.
Aryan stood perfectly still, his breath caught in his throat. The moonlight, soft and silver just moments ago, now shimmered strangely—warped, as though passing through smoke that wasn't there.
Aelira stood before him, motionless. Her lips parted. Her eyes rolled back.
Then she whispered.
Not in a language known to this realm—no tongue from the scrolls of sages or the chants of the Spirit Meridian sects. It was older. Twisted. Elemental.
"I know your flame, child of ash."
Aryan's heartbeat stuttered.
The Flame Seed within him pulsed violently. Not in warning… but in recognition.
He stepped forward. "Who are you?"
Aelira did not answer. Her voice—not her voice—spoke again.
> "You should not exist. The fire died. The pact ended."
> "And yet… you stand again."
> "Why?"
The ground beneath them cracked softly, a vein of dark fire tracing its way outward from her feet—like the roots of a tree buried too deep.
Aryan clenched his fists. "I didn't ask to come back. But I will burn through whatever brought me here if it means protecting what I lost."
For a heartbeat, everything stopped.
Then he saw it—a memory not his own.
A battlefield. Ash falling like snow. A woman with moonlight in her eyes kneeling amidst ruin, her hands pressed to a dying flame. And a voice—gentle, breaking—
> "Find him, before the dark does."
Aelira screamed.
Aryan caught her just before she collapsed. Her skin burned cold, but she was breathing.
He looked down at where the roots had split the earth.
Beneath the glade, something shifted.
Not just power. Intention.
Then her voice, soft and frightened:
"They're not here for me… Aryan."
She gripped his sleeve.
"They're coming… for you."
---
Author's Note:
Things are heating up (and not just because Aryan's back)! What ancient force remembers Aryan's flame? Is Aelira someone more than she appears to be? And who—or what—is coming?
Drop your theories below and don't forget to add the book to your library if you haven't already!