POV: Kael đđ„đ©ž
The scroll felt heavier than it should.
Kael turned it in his hands, the parchment rough and cracked with age. The seal was old â not royal, but tribal. A small flame over two crossed swords. He hadn't seen it since he was a boy.
The symbol of the Emberguard.
His father's mark.
Ariya sat nearby, watching the firelight dance across her sword. The others had given him space. No questions. No pressure.
But he knew they were waiting.
He cracked the seal.
Unrolled the parchment.
And began to read.
Kael, if you're reading this, then the truths I kept buried have finally found you.
I trained you in swordwork, in honor, in loyalty. But I never trained you in flame â not because you couldn't learn it, but because I swore an oath to keep it from you.
An oath tied in blood and betrayal.
I was once a disciple of Velkar, the First Flamebearer's protector. I walked the halls of the original temple â the one Ariya found. I was there when the order fell.
And I watched as the last embers were hidden in the bloodlines of warriors, scattered and sealed.
Your blood, Kael, carries a fraction of the First Flame.
Not enough to spark power. But enough to bond to one who does. Enough to protect⊠or destroy them.
You were never meant to wield the flame.
You were meant to shield it.
Kael stared at the words.
They burned deeper than fire ever could.
He wasn't just some rebel's son. He wasn't just a soldier.
He was chosen â for something older, deeper. Something that explained why he'd always felt drawn to Ariya⊠why the temple had responded to him too, almost.
Not to grant him power.
But to bind him to hers.
He looked up. Ariya met his gaze.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
She listened in silence as he read the letter aloud â every word.
When he finished, there was no shock in her expression.
Just⊠understanding.
"So your family served mine," she said quietly. "Long before either of us was born."
"I don't want to be a servant," he said. "I don't want to be fate's puppet."
"You're not," she replied, her voice soft but firm. "You've chosen to fight beside me. Every day. That matters more than old blood."
He wanted to believe that.
But the words etched into the scroll stayed heavy in his mind:
Enough to protect⊠or destroy them.
"What if one day I become the reason you fall?" he asked.
"Then fall beside me," Ariya whispered. "Don't ever let me fall alone."
Lyra and Jax returned a short while later. No one asked what was written in the scroll. But something had changed.
Kael felt it.
He looked down at his hands.
They didn't hold fire.
But maybeâŠ
They were still meant to carry a piece of it.
Far away, Corven stepped into Ruvan's private chamber.
"He read it."
"And?"
"He'll be loyal to the end."
Ruvan stared into the flickering flame on his palm.
"Then he'll be the one to break her."