Nyra
We ran until the trees swallowed us.
Until the wind howled louder than our thoughts and our lungs begged for mercy.
And still, we didn't stop.
Not until we reached a rocky outcrop where the mountain dipped into shadow and Kael raised a hand to signal a halt.
"We can rest here," he said, scanning the ridgeline behind us. "No one's caught up yet."
I dropped to the ground with Ava beside me, both of us breathing hard. The night pressed in, cold, sharp, laced with the scent of pine and frost. But I could still taste the smoke on my tongue.
Still feel the fire licking beneath my skin, agitated and restless.
Elira tossed down her pack and crouched near a patch of stone, drawing a rune in the dirt with the tip of her dagger. A subtle glow flickered, then dimmed, cloaking us in silence.
"A ward?" I asked.
"Sound and presence," she replied. "Basic concealment. Won't hold off a hound mage, but it'll buy us time."
Kael stood watch near the edge, his back to us, jaw clenched in a way that said he was doing math with lives. Strategy, terrain, morality. He was good at that, calculating. Cold.
But he'd also turned his back on the Council.
And on everything he knew.
"So," Elira said as she dug into her satchel, "now that we're fugitives, anyone want a dried fig?"
I blinked. "Seriously?"
"I looted a nobleman's pantry on the way out," she said. "Consider it my last meal if we get caught."
Ava giggled. A small, cracked sound, but real. I tucked my arm around her shoulders, warmth curling in my chest.
"I can't believe you're here," she whispered.
"I couldn't leave you," I said. "I didn't know what they'd done to you."
"They told me you'd died," she said, voice trembling. "That you'd destroyed the capital. That it was your fault."
Of course they had.
The Council's lies ran deep.
"They needed someone to blame," I said. "And I was the easiest target."
"But it wasn't you," Ava murmured.
"No." I looked up at the stars peeking through the trees. "But I'm going to make the ones responsible wish it had been."
A long silence passed. Elira handed Ava a fig, then offered one to me. I took it, more out of spite than hunger.
Kael finally turned around. His eyes swept over us, landing on Ava, then on me.
"You did well back there," he said quietly.
"That's an odd way of describing arson," I muttered.
He smirked faintly. "You gave them a warning."
"I gave them fear," I corrected.
He didn't deny it.
"We can't stay in Glacium territory," he said. "They'll be watching every gate, every outpost."
"Then we go to Ventaria," I said. "You mentioned a lodge."
"A day's ride," he said. "More on foot."
"We'll manage."
Elira stood. "Ventaria's Council is fractured. They'll be more open to deals, but they'll want something in return."
"Good," I said. "Because I've got something to offer."
Kael raised a brow. "Your fire?"
"No," I said, holding his gaze. "The truth."
They fell silent. The trees did too. Even the wind held its breath.
"Ignara didn't fall because of my fire," I said. "It fell because the Council made it fall. They orchestrated it. Covered it up. Blamed me and buried the rest."
"How do you know?" Kael asked.
"Because I saw the sigils in the ash," I said. "Fire magic mixed with something else, twisted. Not mine. I was trained to control it. What destroyed our capital was something... ancient. Something buried."
Elira's eyes widened. "Divine fire?"
I nodded.
"There were rumors," she whispered. "The Elemental High Council sealed something beneath the four thrones, a godfire, too powerful to contain."
"And they unleashed it," I said. "To start a war they could control."
Kael's expression darkened.
"And now," I said, "I think it's waking again."
A shiver passed through the group. Even the fire in my blood flickered.
"We'll need allies," Kael said.
"We'll need more than that," I replied. "We'll need to burn their lies down to the roots."
Elira raised her dried fig. "To arson and truth."
Ava giggled again, and this time, I laughed with her.
But deep in my chest, the fire stirred.
The truth had a price.
And I was finally ready to pay it.