The village was silent, save for the low crackle of smoldering ruins. Ash hung heavy in the air, swirling around Aelin and Kael as they walked among the wreckage. Each step brought the metallic tang of death, and every corner seemed to hold a story of despair. The villagers had not stood a chance. The sheer violence of it was chilling.
Aelin crouched beside a charred wooden beam, her fingers brushing the scorched ground. Her gaze locked on the burned sigil of the Eldryn—a circle of flame surrounding a single, all-seeing eye.
Their message had been clear.
"They want me to see this," Aelin murmured, her voice hollow.
Kael, who had been surveying the outskirts of the ruins, approached quietly. His expression was grim, eyes scanning the mark she had been studying. "They're not hiding anymore. They know you're out here. This is how they work—burn everything in their path until they get what they want."
Aelin clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. "Why?" she snapped, standing abruptly. "Why kill innocent people? These villagers had nothing to do with the Flame!"
Kael's gaze was steady, though sorrow flickered behind his golden eyes. "Because to the Eldryn, the ends always justify the means. They'll burn a hundred villages to find you. And they'll do worse if they think it will draw you out."
Aelin turned away, bile rising in her throat as she fought to steady herself. She had carried burdens before—fought battles for causes greater than herself—but this? The knowledge that her presence, her mere existence, had brought this destruction was unbearable.
She felt Kael's eyes on her, unrelenting yet understanding.
"This isn't your fault, Aelin," he said softly. "The Eldryn have always sought the Flame. If it weren't you, it would be someone else."
Aelin shot him a sharp look. "That doesn't make it better."
"No," Kael replied. "But it means you can stop this."
His words struck something deep within her, something she'd been trying to bury since leaving the Temple. You can stop this.
The relic beneath her armor flared suddenly, a faint pulse of heat spreading outward, as though it, too, had heard Kael's words. Aelin pressed her hand against her chest instinctively, the burn quick but fleeting.
Kael noticed. "The Flame is responding to you."
Aelin's brows furrowed. "What does it want?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "The Flame doesn't want. It calls. It warns. It prepares."
"Prepares for what?"
Kael looked out over the charred remains of the village. "War."
They buried the bodies as best they could, working silently until the sky turned a dull orange with the setting sun. It was grim work—work that left Aelin's hands raw and her heart heavier than it had ever felt. The villagers deserved better, but this was all she could give them.
When they were finished, Aelin stood by the edge of the village, staring out at the horizon. The forest loomed dark and foreboding, and beyond it, somewhere, the Eldryn were waiting. Hunting.
Kael joined her, his cloak stained with ash. "We need to keep moving."
"Where?" Aelin asked, her voice quieter now.
Kael adjusted the strap of his pack. "There's an old keep in the southern mountains. It was once a sanctuary for those who guarded the Flame."
Aelin glanced at him sharply. "You think there'll be something there to help us?"
Kael nodded. "If there's anything left of the old orders, we'll find it there. Weapons, knowledge… allies, maybe."
"Or more ghosts," Aelin muttered.
Kael's lips quirked, though there was no humor in it. "Ghosts don't frighten me. The living do."
Aelin exhaled slowly, looking one last time at the ruins of the village. Her anger had tempered into something colder, sharper—a determination that felt almost like steel against her bones.
"Let's go," she said.
They set out again, their path taking them deeper into the wilderness. The forest seemed to grow darker as they walked, the canopy above thick and unyielding. Aelin could feel the relic's pulse grow stronger the further south they traveled, as though it, too, could sense what awaited them.
After hours of walking, the silence between them was broken by Kael's low voice.
"You're stronger than most who carry the Flame," he said, not looking at her.
Aelin frowned, glancing at him. "What do you mean?"
Kael's gaze remained fixed ahead, though his voice was soft, almost reluctant. "The Flame doesn't just test your strength. It tests your will. Most people crack long before they leave the Temple. You… haven't."
Aelin shrugged, though his words left her uneasy. "Maybe I'm just stubborn."
Kael huffed a quiet laugh. "Maybe. But the relic chose you for a reason, Aelin. You survived the trials because it saw something in you."
She bit back the questions swirling in her mind—the ones about destiny, about purpose, about whether the Flame's "choice" was a blessing or a curse. She didn't believe in fate, but she couldn't ignore the pull of the relic or the way it seemed to know her.
"What happened to you, Kael?" she asked suddenly.
Kael slowed, his steps faltering for a moment. "What do you mean?"
Aelin glanced at him, her gaze sharp. "You said the Temple rejected you. You carried the Flame, but it didn't let you keep it. Why?"
Kael's expression darkened, his jaw tightening. For a moment, Aelin thought he wouldn't answer. But then he said, quietly, "Because I was weak."
Aelin stopped walking, grabbing his arm to turn him toward her. "That's not an answer."
Kael met her eyes, and for the first time, Aelin saw something raw in his expression—something vulnerable. "The Flame saw the truth in me. My fears, my anger, my doubts. It showed me everything I hated about myself, and I couldn't bear it. I ran."
Aelin released him slowly, her chest tightening at his words. She didn't know what to say—what could she say? The thought of facing the truth of herself like that was terrifying, and she couldn't blame him for faltering.
Kael turned away, his voice quieter. "That's why I'm helping you. Because I failed. But you? You might succeed."
Aelin swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words settle over her like a cloak. "Then we'd better make sure I do."
Kael gave her a faint nod, his golden eyes steady. "We will."
They made camp again beneath the canopy of trees, the forest unnervingly silent. Aelin lay awake long after Kael had fallen into a restless sleep, staring up at the darkness above.
The Heart of the Flame pulsed faintly against her chest, its rhythm matching the beat of her own heart. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, the world fell away.
In the darkness behind her eyelids, the Flame whispered.
She saw glimpses of things she didn't understand—shadows moving across a burning battlefield, a great spire of fire rising into the sky. Figures cloaked in black stood at its base, their hands raised in worship. And at the center of it all was her, the Heart of the Flame glowing like a star in her chest.
The whispers grew louder, pressing into her mind.
The vessel. The chosen. The end and the beginning.
Aelin gasped, jerking awake. Her breath came hard and fast, sweat soaking her brow as she pressed her hand against the relic. It was warm now, impossibly warm, as though it, too, had felt the vision.
Kael stirred nearby, his eyes snapping open. "What is it?"
Aelin didn't answer right away, her pulse pounding in her ears. She looked up at him, her voice trembling.
"They're getting closer."
Kael's expression hardened as he sat up, reaching for his blade. "Then we'll be ready."
Aelin looked out into the darkness, her fingers brushing the relic beneath her armor. The whispers still echoed in her mind, chilling her to the bone.
The end and the beginning.
And she knew, deep down, that the Flame was preparing her for something far greater—and far deadlier—than she could imagine.
The forest seemed darker than it had the day before, as though the trees themselves sensed what was coming. Aelin and Kael moved in silence, their footsteps muffled by the damp earth. The only sound came from the faint rustle of leaves above and the occasional snap of a twig beneath their boots.
Aelin's thoughts churned with the whispers of the Flame, the visions that had haunted her sleep lingering like shadows at the edge of her mind. The great spire of fire, the cloaked figures, her own glowing form at the center—it was as if the Flame itself were trying to show her a future she couldn't yet understand.
Kael walked a few steps ahead, his golden eyes scanning the path before them with a predator's focus. Though they had seen no sign of pursuit since the village, Aelin could feel it—a faint pressure in the air, like a storm building just beyond the horizon.
"You're quiet," Kael said suddenly, his voice cutting through the stillness.
Aelin blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "What?"
"I said, you're quiet," he repeated, glancing back at her. "That's not like you."
Aelin scowled at his teasing tone. "Maybe I just don't have anything to say."
Kael smirked, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Or maybe you're worried about what you saw."
Aelin stiffened. "How do you know I saw something?"
Kael's smirk faded, replaced by a calm seriousness. "Because I've carried the Flame. I know its tricks. The visions, the whispers—they start small, but they always grow louder."
Aelin frowned, quickening her pace to walk beside him. "What did it show you?"
Kael's gaze darkened as he looked straight ahead, his jaw tightening. "Nothing I want to remember."
Aelin didn't push further, though his answer did little to comfort her. If the Flame's visions had broken him, what chance did she have? She pressed a hand against the relic beneath her armor, feeling its pulse—steady, alive—as though it were watching her, waiting for her to decide what to do next.
"The keep you mentioned," Aelin said after a while, her voice breaking the silence. "What's there, really?"
Kael sighed, his eyes scanning the treeline as he spoke. "It's called Rhyven's Keep. Hundreds of years ago, it was a sanctuary for those who guarded the Flame—an order of warriors and scholars who called themselves the Emberblades."
Aelin's brow furrowed. "Emberblades?"
Kael nodded. "They swore their lives to protecting the Flame and its secrets. When the wars came, they were wiped out, their strongholds abandoned and forgotten. Rhyven's Keep is one of the last remnants."
"Do you think we'll find anyone there?"
Kael hesitated. "I don't know. If the Eldryn haven't found it already, there might still be something left. At the very least, there could be answers—books, maps, anything to help us understand what we're up against."
Aelin nodded, though unease coiled in her chest. The closer they drew to the keep, the more the Flame seemed to hum beneath her skin. It felt like anticipation, like a fire being stoked in her veins.
She had a sinking feeling that whatever awaited them at Rhyven's Keep would change everything.
They reached the mountains by nightfall. The towering peaks loomed over them like silent sentinels, their jagged edges dusted with snow. A narrow path snaked up the mountainside, barely visible in the fading light.
"We'll camp here," Kael said, dropping his pack at the base of the trail.
Aelin scanned their surroundings warily. The forest had thinned out as they climbed higher, replaced by sharp rocks and sheer cliffs. There were few places to hide up here, which meant they would see anyone—or anything—coming.
Kael began gathering wood for a fire while Aelin sat against a boulder, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. The mountains were eerily quiet, the air thin and cold. She could feel the Flame's presence more strongly now, its pulse steady but insistent.
As the fire crackled to life, Kael sat across from her, his golden eyes reflecting the flickering flames. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kael broke the silence. "You're scared."
Aelin glared at him. "I'm not scared."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Liar."
Aelin bristled, sitting up straighter. "What do you expect? We're being hunted by a cult of fire-worshiping fanatics, I'm carrying a relic that might burn me alive, and now we're heading to an abandoned keep full of ghosts. Excuse me if I'm not completely calm."
Kael's lips twitched into something resembling a smile. "Fair enough."
Aelin sighed, running a hand through her hair. "What if this is all for nothing?" she asked quietly. "What if we get to the keep and find nothing but ruins?"
Kael leaned back, his gaze fixed on the fire. "Then we keep going. The Flame chose you for a reason, Aelin. It's leading you somewhere. We just have to trust that the answers will come."
Aelin stared at him, incredulous. "Trust? That's your grand plan?"
Kael shrugged. "It's worked so far."
Aelin let out a frustrated laugh, shaking her head. "You're impossible."
Kael's smile softened, though his eyes remained serious. "And you're stronger than you think."
Aelin looked away, the firelight warming her face. She wanted to believe him—wanted to believe that she could be strong enough to carry the Flame, to fight back against the Eldryn. But the visions haunted her, their whispers filling her with doubt.
Before she could respond, a sound shattered the quiet.
A low, distant rumble.
Aelin and Kael froze, both of them reaching for their weapons as they listened. The sound came again, louder this time—a deep, unnatural growl that seemed to echo through the mountains.
"Something's coming," Kael said, rising to his feet.
Aelin stood as well, drawing her sword. Her heart raced as she scanned the darkness, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. The sound was growing closer, and now she could hear something else—the faint scrape of claws on stone.
"Wargs?" Aelin asked, her voice tight.
Kael shook his head, his golden eyes narrowing. "No. Worse."
Before Aelin could ask what he meant, the creature appeared.
It emerged from the darkness like a living nightmare—a massive, hulking beast with blackened skin and glowing red eyes. Its claws dug into the stone as it prowled forward, smoke rising from its body as though it were smoldering from the inside out.
Aelin's blood ran cold. "What is that?"
Kael's voice was grim. "A Hellspawn. The Eldryn's hounds."
The beast let out a guttural roar, its mouth opening to reveal rows of jagged teeth. Its red eyes locked onto Aelin, and she felt the Flame beneath her armor flare in response.
It knew.
"They're hunting the relic," Aelin whispered.
Kael drew his blade, his stance steady. "Then let's make sure it doesn't find it."
The Hellspawn lunged.
Aelin barely had time to react before the beast was upon them. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the swipe of its massive claws. Kael met its charge head-on, his blade flashing in the firelight as he struck at the creature's side.
The beast roared in fury, smoke and fire spilling from its wounds as it turned on Kael. Aelin scrambled to her feet, gripping her sword tightly as she searched for an opening.
Move, Aelin. Move!
The Flame pulsed against her chest, and suddenly, she felt it—power surging through her veins like liquid fire. Her vision sharpened, her movements quickened, and before she knew what she was doing, she was charging the beast.
Her sword struck true, slicing through the Hellspawn's thick hide. The creature roared, stumbling back as smoke poured from the wound. Kael took advantage, driving his blade into its side.
Together, they fought like a single force—Kael's precision complementing Aelin's ferocity. The Hellspawn lashed out in fury, but it was weakening, its movements growing sluggish.
Finally, with a roar of defiance, Aelin drove her sword into the creature's chest. The beast let out one last shriek before collapsing to the ground, its body dissolving into ash.
Breathing hard, Aelin staggered back, her sword still smoking. Kael lowered his blade, his gaze flicking to her.
"Are you all right?"
Aelin nodded, though her body trembled with exhaustion. "I'm fine."
Kael looked at the pile of ash where the Hellspawn had fallen, his expression dark. "They're getting closer. That was a scout."
Aelin swallowed hard, her hand pressing against the relic. The Flame's pulse had quieted, but she could still feel its warmth.
"They know where we are," she said softly.
Kael nodded. "Then we need to reach the keep. Fast."
Aelin stared into the darkness, her resolve hardening like steel. Whatever the Eldryn were planning, she would stop them.
No matter the cost.