The battle raged until the snow melted into blood. Wolves fell. Rogues surged. Aradia's fire blazed higher, but the shadow's whispers clawed at her mind.
You cannot win. You never win. You always burn him. You always fail.
Her fire wavered. She saw Kael's bloodied wolf fall to his knees, claws torn, eyes dimming.
"Kael!" she screamed, her fire exploding outward.
But this time, it was not controlled. Not guided.
It consumed everything. Wolves. Rogues. Trees. The very sky burned with her anguish.
Kael staggered, his massive frame caught in her blaze, his skin searing, his eyes glowing in pain.
"Aradia!" he roared, his voice breaking through her storm. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him, his lips crushing hers in a kiss that seared hotter than fire.
Her flames bent, dimmed, curled inward. His love broke the shadow's whisper.
But when the fire finally died, the battlefield lay in ruin. Wolves lay ash, rogues scattered, the snow nothing but smoke and blackened earth.
And Aradia fell to her knees, trembling. "I nearly destroyed us all."
Kael lifted her chin, his green eyes fierce even through his wounds. "No. You saved us. Again. And again, and again, until the shadow is ash. You are not our end, Aradia. You are our fire."
But deep inside, she feared the shadow was right.
That one day, her fire would consume even him.