The sun's pale light filtered through the thick trees, casting a dappled glow across the forest floor as Aelin stood frozen before Kaelor Dhain. His golden eyes glinted in the morning light, a quiet intensity emanating from him like the heat from a forge. He seemed both familiar and utterly foreign, as if he were a shadow from a dream she couldn't fully recall.
"Come with me, Aelin," Kaelor repeated, his voice a low, commanding whisper that seemed to vibrate with power. "It's time to face what you are."
Aelin didn't respond immediately. Her mind reeled from everything that had happened in such a short time. Her village was gone. Marek—her father, her protector—was left behind, likely facing the wrath of the Shattered Order. And now, standing before her, was a man whose very presence seemed to command her attention in ways she didn't understand.
"Why?" she asked, her voice catching in her throat. "What do you want with me?"
Kaelor's eyes softened just for a moment, and he stepped forward, the light rustling the leaves in a way that seemed almost deliberate. "I don't want anything from you, Aelin. I'm here to help you understand the path ahead of you. The one that was destined for you, before you even knew your own name."
She shook her head, confusion and fear rising up to choke her words. "I don't understand. How do you know me? How do you know who I am?"
"The Eternal Flame calls to you, and it calls to me as well," Kaelor said, his voice unwavering. "I've been tracking the Shattered Order for years. They're hunting you, Aelin. Not just because you're the last of the Pyromancers, but because they want the power you possess. The Flame isn't just an artifact. It's a force. And it's not something they'll let remain hidden for long."
Aelin took a step back, her pulse quickening as her thoughts collided with the weight of his words. The Flame wasn't just some legend. It was real. She was the last of an ancient order of mages who had once wielded its power, shaping the world itself with the fire they controlled.
Her thoughts spiraled as the ground seemed to tilt beneath her. She could barely remember her life before Marek—before the days spent in the small, quiet village of Varinport. How could any of this be true?
"I don't know if I can believe you," Aelin whispered, her voice trembling despite her efforts to keep it steady. "How could you know all this? And why did you come for me?"
Kaelor remained silent for a moment, his gaze unwavering. Then he spoke again, his words slow, as though measuring their weight.
"I didn't want to come for you," he said quietly. "But the Shattered Order is hunting you, Aelin, because they know the power you hold. They know what you are. And if you don't understand what's at stake, they will use you. They will twist the Flame into something unrecognizable."
Aelin took another step back, her mind refusing to accept what he was saying. "The Flame... it's inside me, isn't it? That's what you're telling me."
Kaelor nodded, his expression unreadable. "The Flame isn't just a physical object—it's a force that courses through your blood, a connection to something older than anything in this world. You can feel it, can't you? The pull. The heat."
Aelin swallowed hard, her fingers brushing against the pendant around her neck. She had always felt something—like a distant, burning warmth that she couldn't place. But now, standing in front of Kaelor, it was as if everything had come into sharp focus.
It wasn't just magic. It was her.
"I can feel it," Aelin admitted quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "But it's... it's terrifying."
"It will be," Kaelor said, his voice filled with a strange mixture of sorrow and certainty. "At first, it will frighten you. It will consume you. But you must learn to control it. You must."
Aelin stared at him for a long time, her eyes searching his face for something—anything—that might explain the overwhelming weight of his words. But there was only determination in his gaze, a kind of hard knowledge that unsettled her.
"I don't know if I can do this," she admitted, the weight of the world crashing down on her like a landslide. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Kaelor regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, to her surprise, he smiled—a small, almost sad smile that softened the harshness of his features.
"You're not alone, Aelin," he said quietly. "You never have been."
He reached into his cloak, drawing out a small leather-bound tome, its edges worn and frayed with age. He handed it to her carefully, as though it were the most precious thing in the world.
"This is a guide," he explained. "A record of everything the Pyromancers knew about the Flame. The rituals, the history, the way it works. If you want to survive what's coming, you need to learn this. And you need to learn quickly."
Aelin hesitated for only a moment before taking the book from him. Its weight felt heavy in her hands, almost oppressive, as though it were laden with the knowledge of a thousand lives. She opened the first page and found it covered in strange symbols and illustrations of fire—a language she couldn't read.
"Where do I even start?" she asked, the question more to herself than to him.
"You start by learning who you are," Kaelor said softly, his tone barely above a whisper. "The rest will follow."
Aelin nodded, though doubt still gnawed at her. The fire inside her felt both like a promise and a threat—something both wondrous and terrible. She didn't know if she was ready for any of it, but she knew one thing for certain: The Shattered Order was coming, and they would not stop until they had the Flame.
As if on cue, a distant roar echoed through the forest, a sound so deep and violent that the ground beneath Aelin's feet seemed to tremble.
"The Shattered Order," Kaelor muttered under his breath. "They're getting closer."
Aelin's blood ran cold. The time for questions was over.
"We need to go," Kaelor said, his voice hardening. "Now."
Before Aelin could respond, he turned and strode toward the trees, his cloak billowing behind him like a shadow. Aelin hesitated for a moment, then followed, clutching the book tightly to her chest. She didn't know where Kaelor was taking her, or what the future held, but she knew she had no choice.
She had to learn to control the Flame. And she had to stop the Shattered Order from taking it.
The path ahead was unclear, but the fire inside her would guide her.