The moon was wrong.
Too low.Too red.Too close.
It hung like a second sun over Emberthorn's skyline—full, blood-colored, and pulsing faintly in time with my heartbeat.
"When the moon dies tomorrow night…"The Masked One's warning echoed in my mind.
And now?
Tomorrow had become tonight.
✦ ✦ ✦
Riven was pacing.
"You're sure about this?" she asked. "This isn't just another forbidden artifact. This is, like, capital-'C' Cataclysm kind of stuff."
I sat by the window, watching fireflies gather unnaturally around the school's old tower. The wind smelled like lightning and old parchment.
"I'm sure," I said. "The Pact didn't die. It just… waited."
"And now it wants you."
I showed her the ring.
"It's not just a key. It's an invitation."
✦ ✦ ✦
Midnight.
The school bells rang thirteen times.
The tower doors opened by themselves.
And inside waited:
The Fire Trial.
The Tower of Thorn had changed.
The once-broken mirrors were whole.
The spiral staircases no longer crumbled—but floated, suspended in flame.
And the air shimmered with old power—the kind that made your bones remember things your mind couldn't.
I stepped inside alone.
Behind me, Riven stayed back—but not without protest.
"If this tower tries to kill you again, I'm charging in with a battalion of lightning cats."
"That's not a thing."
"Yet."
The first floor tested my memory.
A mirror asked:
"What was your name before the flame?"
I answered:
"Elira. But once… Elestria Flameborn."
The mirror bowed.
The fire let me pass.
The second floor tested my will.
A ring of fire surrounded a single question, spoken by a voice that sounded like my own:
"Will you burn them to protect yourself?"
"No," I whispered.
"But I'll burn for them."
The fire withdrew.
The stairs rose.
The third floor was empty.
Except… for her.
The girl of flame.
Only now, she wasn't just watching.
She was waiting.
And when I stepped forward, she merged with me.
No pain.
No fear.
Only flame—
And knowledge.
Every secret they sealed.Every lie the Pact buried.Every reason they feared the Emberborn.
When the flames cleared, I stood in the center of a ring of sigils.
Above, the moon cracked silently like glass.
And floating in the air:
Seven robed figures.
Faces hidden. Voices like thunder.
They spoke in unison:
"Elira Wren, blood of the Flamebound, bearer of the First Ember—you stand before the Reforged Pact."
"We judged you once. Now you will judge us."
✦ ✦ ✦
I stepped into the center.
The sigils lit beneath my feet.
Each one glowed with a symbol from my visions—Justice. Fire. Memory. Ruin.
I felt each burn into my spine like tattoos of truth.
The robed figures waited.
And one by one, I spoke.
"You silenced a bloodline to protect your order."
"You broke her into pieces to contain her."
"But she didn't vanish."
I raised my hand.
"She became me."
And then I said the words that had haunted me since the day the fire chose me:
"I am the girl who burned too bright."
"And I will not be silent."
The figures flinched.
The sky cracked.
The trial circle burst into golden flame.
And as the tower trembled, a final voice whispered through the chaos:
"Then let the Pact be reborn."
✦ ✦ ✦
Outside, Riven looked up as the tower exploded in light.
She muttered, "Either she passed… or she just became an elemental goddess."
Then:
The doors opened.
And I stepped out.
Different.
The flame mark now circled both palms. My eyes glowed faint gold. And every step I took sparked against the stone.
"So," said Riven, "how'd it go?"
I gave her a tired smile.
"The moon's still up. The world's not ending. I didn't explode."
She crossed her arms. "I'll take that as a win."
"Also," I added, "the magical secret society that cursed my entire bloodline is now mine."
"…I'm sorry, what?"