A scream tore through the alley outside, sharp and raw, cutting through the morning stillness.
Nyasha bolted upright, hands flaring with ember-light before she even registered the source.
Zara grabbed her arm. "Wait! Let's see—don't blow the whole street up!"
But it was too late. The Emberheart answered. Flames coiled around Nyasha's palms, stretching upward like serpents eager for prey.
Through the safehouse window, shadows moved—figures clad in black, bearing the mark of the Covenant. Scouts. They were small in number, but the city's streets made the shadows loom like giants.
Nyasha took a deep breath, trying to anchor herself. Her pulse pounded in tandem with the Emberheart's glow. Rage. Fear. Hope. Grief. She felt it all, and the fire responded. It wanted to leap.
Zara hissed, "Focus! Control it, or we die!"
Nyasha clenched her fists, forcing the flame inward. The serpents of fire writhed, but didn't strike. Her arms glowed faintly as the Emberheart pulsed like a heartbeat, demanding obedience.
The scouts breached the doorway—steel flashing, shadows merging with the smoke of her own creation.
With a scream of effort, Nyasha thrust her hands outward, releasing a controlled flare: a wall of fire that lashed across the entryway, knocking the scouts off their feet without engulfing the safehouse. Sparks danced in the air, scorching the walls, but leaving the structure intact.
The scouts scrambled back, eyes wide. Nyasha's chest heaved. Her palms burned from the strain, but the Emberheart dimmed, satisfied… for now.
Zara dropped to the floor, panting. "Not bad. You didn't burn us alive. That's progress."
Nyasha's lips trembled. "Progress… or luck?"
Taye peeked from behind a barrel. "That was… beautiful. Terrifying. Are you sure you're human?"
Nyasha exhaled slowly, feeling the first twinges of exhaustion. She knew this was only the beginning. If a few scouts had tested her like this, the Covenant's true forces were going to crush her if she wasn't ready.
The Emberheart pulsed faintly against her chest, almost gently, as if promising, We can do this. But it will cost you everything.