Ashes of the crown

POV: Princess Lira 👑🕊️🌙

If there was one thing Princess Lira loved more than teasing her brother, it was defying him behind his back.

Especially when it came to Ariya Flameborn.

The girl who haunted Ruvan's silence.The flame he couldn't extinguish — or resist.

And Lira?She needed to see her for herself.

She waited until midnight, when even the frost of the citadel seemed to sleep.

With a flick of her fingers, Lira conjured a shimmering shard of moonlight — her own style of transport magic, forbidden for use outside the palace walls.

"If I get caught," she muttered, "Ruvan will lose his mind."

She smiled.

"Perfect."

Her chambers were guarded, but not well enough.

A mirror slipped open. A flash of silver.And Lira vanished into the night air, wind howling softly around her.

She didn't need an army. She didn't need Ruvan's permission.

She had her wit. Her will. And one very dangerous curiosity.

Elsewhere — Far Across the Wastes…

The flame girl was on the move again.

Reports said Ariya had just left the Verdant Range after a training mission, now headed with her team toward the Veilmark Pass.

"A quiet stretch of forest and fog," Lira murmured. "Perfect for a… royal detour."

She disguised herself in a cloak woven from starlight — magic-silent, warmth-laced, and untraceable.

No crown. No crest.

Only a small dagger at her hip and a message sealed in silver wax.

She reached the pass just before dawn.

And waited.

Not like a warrior. Not like a spy.

But like someone ready to meet a storm she'd only ever read about.

When a flicker of fire appeared between the trees —When a familiar figure with blazing eyes and a wolfish stance stepped into view, arguing with someone just out of sight —

Lira knew.

"That's her."

No army. No flames. Just Ariya, laughing at something Jax said, swatting Kael with a rolled-up map.

Lira hid behind a tree, heart beating faster than it should have.

"She's nothing like I imagined," she whispered.

Then Ariya turned her head slightly. Paused.

Eyes narrowing.

And Lira realized — she'd been seen.

"Oops."