Ash and Blood
Elira crouched beside Rian, eyes fixed on the sigil he had shown her. The ink shimmered faintly with a residual spell—a calling mark, she realized, used to summon beasts or bind them to a false trail.
"You're sure it was Frostborne?" she asked.
Rian nodded. "I saw the mage who placed it. Frostborne cloak, silver crest. But he moved like someone who didn't want to be seen."
Elira narrowed her eyes. "A spy?"
Rian hesitated. "Or a traitor."
She stood, her boots crunching against the forest floor. "That doesn't make sense. If the kingdom wanted to capture a mage, there are easier ways than conjuring a storm wolf."
"You're not just any mage," Rian said. "Neither is your brother. You both come from the Ember Line."
Elira froze. "That's a myth. A story Grandmother used to scare us into obedience."
"No," he said gently, "it's history they tried to bury. The Ember Line was a bloodline of raw elemental magic—uncontrolled, powerful, dangerous to both sides. They say your ancestor nearly burned through the entire western front in the Mage Wars."
"I've never burned anything," she said, though her voice trembled. "I heal. I soothe. I control."
"For now," Rian said. "But your power's growing. I can feel it." He hesitated. "Kael Draven would've felt it too."
Elira turned away, stormlight flickering in her hands without her meaning to summon it. Her emotions were running wild—fear, fury, betrayal.
She suddenly remembered Kael's gaze in the square—not cold, not cruel… something else. Like recognition.
He knew.
"I have to find the summoner," she said. "If I can prove this was a trap, the trial collapses."
Rian touched her shoulder. "I'll help you. But if they framed Elric to draw you out… they're not going to stop."
Elira met his eyes. "Then they'll regret choosing the wrong mage."
A rustle sounded nearby. Both spun, hands raised.
But this time, it wasn't danger—it was a courier hawk, black-feathered and regal, landing at the edge of the clearing with a sealed scroll clutched in its talon.
Elira took it carefully. She recognized the seal: Kael's.
She broke the wax and read the note aloud:
"Your time is running out, Ashthorn. But so is mine.
Meet me at dusk, alone. At the ruins. Bring the truth—
or prepare to lose everything."