The man took another step forward, the soft crunch of dried leaves beneath his boots echoing in the forest's breathless hush. Birds stilled. Even the wind seemed to pause, as if the very trees were waiting to hear what he'd say next.
Aria's flame danced in her palm, casting flickering light across her face. "If you knew me," she said slowly, "then you know what I'm capable of."
"I do." His voice was steady, measured, as though testing her tone. "That's why I'm here."
The fire crackled louder, but she didn't release it. Her instincts screamed that he was dangerous, but something deeper, something buried within her bones, whispered familiarity.
"Who are you?"
He tilted his head, then smiled—not mockingly, but like someone admiring a puzzle. "You wouldn't remember me. Not now. Not after what they did to you."
Her heart thudded in her chest. "They?"
"The Court. The High Houses. Even the Flamekeeper's own circle." His voice turned bitter. "They rewrote your memory, sealed you away, because you were too powerful to control."
"Lies," Aria hissed, but the flame in her hand trembled. A part of her—small but persistent—feared he was telling the truth.
"They feared you, Aria Valen. Even the ones who claimed to serve you. The fire didn't curse you." He took another step. "It chose you. You were meant to inherit something far older than a kingdom. A legacy of rebirth, of destruction and creation."
Aria lowered her hand slightly. "And you? Why are you here now?"
He finally stopped, a safe distance away, and raised both hands in peace. "My name is Kael. I was bound to the Flamekeeper as her protector, long before your first breath. When she died, she passed the bond to you. I've waited through lifetimes for your return."
The name struck something deep in her—like a bell tolling in the back of her mind. Kael. A name from dreams. From another life.
"I don't remember you," she said softly.
"You will." His voice was gentle now. "But memory will not help you survive. You need training. You need to learn who you really are before they find you again."
"They?" she asked.
"The Crown Court," Kael said grimly. "The ones who wear golden smiles and speak of order while hiding blood on their hands."
Aria's lips pressed together. "I want justice."
Kael's eyes darkened. "Then you need more than desire. You need mastery."
The Days that Followed
Kael led Aria deeper into the forest, beyond paths that even the old maps had forgotten. They passed ruins swallowed by ivy and trees shaped by ancient magic. Time felt different there—slower, heavier.
Kael's camp was hidden in a glade guarded by living vines that moved only when called. Aria marveled as the forest bent to Kael's presence, sensing the bond he spoke of. But power like that didn't come without cost. She saw it in his eyes—weariness, old scars etched in his soul.
Training began immediately. Kael was not gentle.
"You think fire is your gift," he said, tossing her a dull metal blade. "But it's a burden first. A blade will teach you balance. Control."
They fought under the sun and by moonlight. Aria learned how to move with precision, how to anticipate an enemy's step by the twitch of their eye. Kael pressed her until her legs shook, until sweat mingled with ash and her palms blistered from the hilt.
But it wasn't just combat.
He taught her to listen to the forest. To hear the pulse of flame in the soil, in the air, in herself. The fire within was not chaos, he explained—it was instinct, willpower, legacy.
"You were reborn with the Flamekeeper's soul," he told her one night by the fire. "But that doesn't make you her. You're something new. Something dangerous."
Aria stared into the flames. They danced in ways that mimicked her heartbeat now, reacting to her moods, her dreams. Sometimes they whispered to her. Sometimes they screamed.
"What if I become what they fear?" she asked.
Kael's gaze didn't waver. "Then make them regret fearing you."
---
One Night, A Vision
Aria woke drenched in sweat.
The dream had been unlike the others. This one felt real—too real. She'd seen the palace again. But not the one that betrayed her. This time, it had been reduced to ash. The marble pillars scorched, the throne room crumbled, and at its center... stood herself.
But it wasn't her.
The woman in the dream wore her face, but her eyes were molten gold. The flame around her wasn't just power—it was hunger. It consumed everything.
"Kael," Aria whispered, stumbling out of her bedroll.
He was already awake, seated by the dying embers of the fire.
"I saw her again," she said, breathless. "The other me. The fire consumed everything."
Kael's eyes met hers with eerie calm. "The future is not fixed. But the flame shows possibilities. Warnings."
"Was that me?" she whispered.
"It could be," he said. "If you lose yourself. If the flame overpowers your mind."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "What if I'm not strong enough to stop it?"
Kael stood and walked to her. "Then let me help you be."
---
The First Encounter
They didn't get much more time.
Two weeks later, as the moon hung low and crimson, Aria sensed it—an unnatural stillness in the forest. The trees trembled not from wind, but from something approaching.
Kael grabbed his sword without a word.
Then the sound came—metal striking wood, the snarl of beasts, and the snap of wards breaking.
"They've found us," Kael growled.
Aria's blood turned cold. "The Court?"
Kael nodded. "Scouts. Maybe more."
Aria stood tall, her hands trembling only slightly as fire raced through her veins. "Let them come."
They emerged from the woods like shadows—three figures in dark crimson cloaks, faces masked in bone. Court Enforcers.
"Aria Valen," one said, his voice distorted by the mask. "You are summoned to face judgment."
She didn't flinch. "You mean execution."
The Enforcer raised his arm. "By order of the Crown—"
But Aria didn't wait for him to finish. She raised her hands and willed the fire forward.
It erupted from her palms in a torrent of gold and scarlet, searing through branches, catching the edge of the Enforcer's cloak. Kael moved beside her, a blur of blade and shadow, cutting through one attacker with swift efficiency.
The forest lit up with fire and fury.
Aria ducked beneath a blade, then sent a blast of heat into the attacker's chest. He screamed, and his mask melted like wax. Kael dispatched the third before he could strike.
The fight was quick. Brutal. And when it was over, the glade smelled of smoke and blood.
Aria stood trembling, her power still crackling through her. She looked at the bodies, then at Kael.
"They're just the beginning," he said grimly. "You've made your presence known. They'll come in force next time."
Aria nodded, chest heaving. "Then we go to them first."