They had been walking for hours, but Ariya didn't complain.
Her boots were soaked. Her back ached from the weight of her pack. The smell of smoke still clung to her hair. But she said nothing—because Kael hadn't said a word either.
She glanced at him as they walked through the trees. He moved with silent focus, scanning the path ahead, one hand near the hilt of his knife. He looked like he'd done this a hundred times. Maybe he had.
She wasn't sure if he was leading her somewhere—or just making sure they weren't followed.
Around midday, they reached a rocky ledge high above the forest floor. Kael finally stopped, nodding toward a flat stretch of stone.
"We rest here. For an hour."
Ariya dropped her pack with a soft grunt and sat down, stretching her sore legs. She hadn't realized how badly she needed the break.
Kael crouched nearby, keeping watch.
"You always this quiet?" she asked, brushing leaves from her clothes.
He raised an eyebrow. "You always this talkative?"
She smirked. "Only when I'm trying to figure someone out."
"Good luck with that," he muttered, but she caught the hint of a smile.
After a while, she pulled the silver ring from her pocket and studied it again. The phoenix symbol shimmered faintly in the light.
"What does this really mean?" she asked. "You knew it the second you saw it."
Kael's jaw tightened. He didn't answer right away.
Finally, he said, "It's the mark of the Fireborn. A bloodline that was supposed to be wiped out years ago."
Ariya frowned. "But why? What did they do?"
"They ruled," Kael said. "Before the king. Before the war. They were queens—powerful, magical, dangerous. The kind of people who didn't bow."
She looked down at the ring. It felt heavier now.
"You think I'm one of them?"
Kael leaned back against a boulder and stared at the treetops.
"I don't know what you are, Ariya," he said. "But they're hunting you like you are. That's enough."
🌘 That Night
They made camp beneath a moss-covered ridge, hidden from above. No fire—too risky. The air was cool and damp. Crickets sang from the shadows.
Ariya lay curled in her blanket, sleep just out of reach.
"Kael?" she whispered.
He was still awake, sitting with his back against a tree, bow across his lap.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you helping me?"
He didn't speak for a moment. When he did, his voice was quiet.
"Because I've seen what happens to people who carry that mark. Most don't survive it alone."
Ariya swallowed hard.
"Did you lose someone?"
"…Yeah," he said. "A long time ago."
She turned toward him. "I'm not her, Kael."
"I know," he said. "But I'm not losing anyone else."
🔥 The Flicker
Later, when she closed her eyes again, her chest ached. Not from the cold or exhaustion—but from something else. Something alive inside her.
She could feel it.
A heat. Not painful. Just… waiting.
She sat up slowly and looked at her hands.
The ring on her finger glowed faintly, even in the dark. And then, for a heartbeat, a flicker of flame curled up her wrist—silent and soft—before vanishing into the air.
Ariya stared at her hand in the moonlight, trembling.
It had begun.