Kaelen stood in the aftermath, cradling his unconscious sister.
The throne lay empty. The Cindermind, defeated—sealed again beneath the stone. And the three keys he had gathered shimmered at his side.
He did not place them together.
The Ember Crown could remain broken.
He carried Aelis down the mountain. As dawn rose, the smoke over the world began to clear.
Epilogue: A New Flame
Weeks later, Kaelen stood before the king.
He recounted what had happened. The fires. The god. The Crown.
The king offered him a title.
Kaelen refused.
"I'm done serving crowns," he said.
Aelis, weakened but alive, sat beside him. She said nothing. Her fire was gone—but in her eyes, something else had kindled. Hope.
The world was changing.
And Kaelen would walk it as a man reborn—not a soldier, not a servant, but a shield against the next fire that dared to rise.