Chapter 2: Ashes in the Wind
The slums were alive with noise that evening.
The river roared beneath the bridge, swollen from spring rains, and the heavy clouds above threatened more.
Kael walked beside Elara, a small bag of groceries tucked under his arm.
They were halfway across the long bridge that connected two halves of the broken district — a decaying skeleton of a structure, swaying faintly under their steps.
Elara laughed lightly about something, the sound oddly bright against the sullen grey world.
Kael didn't respond much.
He rarely did.
But deep inside, listening to her, he felt something warm.
A feeling he hadn't let himself name yet.
They were almost back to the Rusted Lantern — Elara's tiny tavern tucked fifteen minutes from here — when they heard it.
Shouting.
Boots against cobblestone.
A whimper.
Kael's body stiffened before his mind even caught up.
Down the street, a squad of drunken soldiers had cornered someone — a beastkin child, collapsed from hunger.
The soldiers, clothed in pristine white and red uniforms, barked cruel laughter as they kicked the frail boy like he was no more than garbage.
Kael felt Elara stop beside him.
"No," he whispered, voice rough. "Don't."
But she was already moving.
"Elara—!"
He tried to grab her wrist, but she was faster — slipping free and running toward the soldiers without hesitation.
"Leave him alone!" she shouted, standing protectively over the trembling beastkin.
The soldiers turned, their faces twisting in mocking grins.
"Well, well," one said, his voice oily. "Another rat to put down."
Kael stood frozen, every instinct inside him screaming to move — but terror rooted him in place.
He clutched the groceries tighter against his chest, the bag crumpling under his trembling hands.
If they noticed him —
If they knew who he was —
He would be dragged back.
He would die.
Stay hidden. Stay silent.
That was how he had survived this long.
One of the soldiers shoved Elara back roughly.
She stumbled but did not fall.
Her green eyes burned with fury. And she slapped a drunken solder .
"You can't just—!" she started.
A gun was raised.
A shot cracked through the evening air like thunder.
For a heartbeat, everything stood still.
Then Elara fell, crimson blooming against her simple cloak.she smilled at kael,it was she was relieved that he didn't come with her.
The groceries she had handed him moments ago tumbled from Kael's numb fingers, scattering across the cracked stones.
"Elara…"
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
The soldiers laughed — a low, cruel sound that echoed down the hollow streets.
"Another lesson for the rats!" one jeered, kicking the fallen child again for good measure.
Kael's body felt cold.
Colder than the winter night he first met her.
Somewhere deep inside him —
Something cracked.
His hands ignited — a flicker of blue fire dancing across his fingertips, unnoticed by the guards drunk on their own power.
But the flame spread.
Climbing up his arms, roaring down his spine.
You said the world was cruel.
You said we must still show it kindness.
But they had taken kindness and crushed it beneath their boots.
They had taken Elara.
A howl of rage and grief tore from Kael's throat, swallowed by the sudden roar of flames.
Blue fire exploded outward from him —
Devouring the bridge, the soldiers, the street, the very sky.
Screams filled the slums, brief and terrible.
The world became a sea of blue.
And Kael — once a ghost boy trying to survive — became a monster born of sorrow and fury.
The Rusted Lantern.
The soldiers.
The bridge.
Everything burned.
Everything turned to ash.
And amidst the destruction, Kael stood alone, the blue fire reflected in his violet, hollow eyes.
To be continued....