The map burned gently in my hand.
Its flames didn't consume.
They guided.
A trail of cinders through a world of lies.
✦ ✦ ✦
Riven didn't like it.
"This has 'magical trap' written all over it," she said, arms crossed as we stood just outside the enchanted hedge maze beneath the west wing of the Academy.
I nodded. "Probably."
"And you're going anyway?"
I looked at the sigil glowing faintly on my palm.
"Yeah."
She sighed like she was already planning my rescue mission.
"Fine. I'll follow from a distance. Shout if you spontaneously combust or get possessed."
"Will do."
✦ ✦ ✦
The Heart of Embers was a place whispered of in Emberthorn's oldest student legends.
They said it was built before the Academy, before magic had rules, when spells were sung and burned and bled.
I expected ruins.
What I found was a sanctuary.
A hidden glade beneath the school. Ancient stone arches swallowed by trees. A floor of ash-laced marble etched with spirals. And in the center—a brazier, burning with golden flame.
Waiting beside it:
The Masked One.
Same black robes. Same half-mask. Same eyes—burning with an old, terrifying calm.
"You came," he said.
I nodded. "I want answers."
He gestured to the flame. "Then step into memory."
"What?"
"This is a Heartflame," he explained. "A relic of the first Pact. It remembers all who bear the mark."
I hesitated.
"What happens when I step in?"
"Truth. Pain. And choice."
✦ ✦ ✦
I stepped into the fire.
It didn't hurt.
It welcomed me.
The world twisted.
Colors burned into gold. Sound shattered like glass. I was falling—no, flying—no, remembering.
And then—
A voice. Mine, but not.
"I am Elira Wren. But once, I was someone more."
✦ ✦ ✦
I saw a girl, older than I was now, standing atop a burning tower.
The world below her cracked with war.
She raised her hands—and golden fire obeyed.
She was a Fireblood.She was feared.She was betrayed.
The memory shifted—
A council of robed mages.The same symbol as mine, carved into stone.The words: "Let the Flame be bound. Let her name be lost."
They cast a spell.
They split the girl's essence.
One half sealed.One half—me.
Then—
Darkness.
And a single phrase, whispered by the flames:
"You are the heir of the First Fire. The last Emberborn. And the world is not ready for you."
✦ ✦ ✦
I stumbled out of the Heartflame gasping.
The Masked One caught me.
"What… what was that?" I croaked.
"Your other life. Your truth. The fire was never just power—it was identity. You are what they feared."
"Why me?"
He paused.
"Because you're the only one who might survive it."
He handed me something—a ring.
Silver. Carved with flame.
"This was hers. Now, it's yours. A key to what comes next."
Then he turned.
"When the moon dies tomorrow night, the Pact will rise again. And they will come for you."
I grabbed his arm.
"Who are you?"
He didn't answer.
Just looked back—and said:
"I'm the one who failed her the first time. Don't let me fail you, too."
Then he vanished into the flames.
✦ ✦ ✦
I returned to my dorm to find Riven waiting, arms crossed.
"Okay. How many curses are you under now?"
"Three, maybe four."
"On a scale of one to 'doom of the magical world,' how bad is it?"
"…Fire-apocalypse?"
She groaned. "I hate being right."
I sank into my bed, the ring heavy in my hand.
Tomorrow, the moon would fall.
And with it, everything I thought I knew.