Ashes of the crown

POV: Ariya 🔥🌫️👁️‍🗨️

The vision clung to Ariya like ash.

Even after the light faded, and her breath returned, she could still see the woman's face — strong, kind, and crowned in flame. Her voice echoed through Ariya's bones like something ancient being awakened.

"Not a weapon. A promise…"

Ariya stared at the black-flame crown still hovering on the plinth. It pulsed like a heartbeat.

"It called to me," she whispered.

"And it hurt you," Kael said, stepping between her and the crown, his tone sharper than usual. "That vision nearly tore you apart."

"It didn't hurt," she insisted. "It… unlocked something."

Kael's expression was unreadable, but his eyes were stormy.

"Or someone planted it."

His gaze flicked to Corven, who stood just behind the altar, calm as moonlight.

"You think I faked a temple reaction?" Corven asked smoothly. "I'm flattered."

"I think you knew this would happen," Kael snapped. "And you led her here anyway."

"She's not a child. She followed the call on her own."

"You're manipulating her—"

"Kael." Ariya's voice broke through, firm. "I'm still here."

She stepped past him and placed her hand near — but not on — the crown. Its light flared in recognition.

Her mark burned, not in pain, but in certainty.

"I need to see more," she whispered. "I need to know what this means."

The temple pulsed again, and a second plinth rose from the ground — this one marked with runes in two languages.

One was the Old Tongue.

The other… was Frost Script.

Lyra stepped forward, brow furrowed.

"This one's... a warning."

"What does it say?" Ariya asked.

She hesitated, then read aloud.

"If the crown awakens, so too will the second flame. Bound by blood. Feared by kings. Marked by sorrow. Born of winter."

The group went quiet.

Kael broke the silence.

"Born of winter?" he repeated. "That sounds like—"

"Me," Ariya whispered. "It means me."

"No," Kael said slowly. "It means two. There's a second."

Ariya stepped back from the plinth, heart thudding.

A twin? A counterpart? Another Flameborn?

Or worse…

"A mirror," she muttered.

Lyra looked at her. "You mean… a rival?"

Jax, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly asked, "What if this other person isn't your ally? What if they were made to break you?"

Kael's expression darkened. "Or someone's setting you up to believe they were."

His eyes flicked to Corven again.

The tension crackled like the flame crown still burning behind them.

"We need to leave," Kael said. "Now."

"We're not finished—" Ariya began.

"We're not safe here," he cut in. "That thing is calling to more than just you."

Almost on cue, a low rumble shook the floor beneath them.

Jax's eyes widened. "Um… was that the temple agreeing with Kael?"

"No," Lyra muttered. "That was something waking up."

The air turned thick with heat.

The mark on Ariya's collarbone flared.

Corven turned, voice calm but quick. "Something's coming. Something drawn by you."

As they scrambled out of the chamber, the crown sank back into the stone, sealing itself with a hiss of steam.

But the fire in Ariya's blood didn't fade.

It had tasted something.

And it wanted more.

That night, the group camped just beyond the ruins, too uneasy to go far. Corven sat apart, sharpening a blade made of silverglass. Watching. Waiting.

Kael didn't sleep.

He sat next to Ariya as she watched the fire, lost in thought.

"You don't believe me," she said quietly.

"I do," Kael replied. "I just don't believe him."

Ariya nodded.

Then added, "I saw her again. In a dream. The flame-crowned woman. She said the mirror is coming."

Kael turned sharply. "The what?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "But I think it means Ruvan."

Far away, in the Frost Citadel, Ruvan jolted awake — the mark on his chest glowing faintly.

He felt it again.

The pulse.

The moment she touched the memory in the crown.

"She's closer," he whispered. "Too close."

He stood, summoning Corven's mirror fragment.

"Keep her moving," he ordered. "Make her question the ones closest to her. Break her from the inside."

The glass shimmered.

Corven's silver eyes looked back through the flame-lit reflection.

And he smiled.