Chapter Three: The Ash Between Us

The howls were closing in.

Ash’s grip tightened around Liora’s wrist, his voice low and urgent. “Move. We need to go. Now.”

She barely had time to breathe before he pulled her toward a dark archway at the far end of the room.

Her legs felt shaky, but his pace was merciless; he wasn't slowing down. Behind them, something heavy slammed against the door; they'd just come through something with claws.

The hallway they entered was narrow and damp, lit by those same blue flames. Its walls were slick with condensation. Ash was moving fast but not recklessly, checking over his shoulder every few steps to make sure she was keeping up, as if reassuring himself she was still there.

The sound came again: the deep, bone-rattling growl of a wolf, too big to be natural. Now there was something else too, the scraping of metal on stone.

“They’re not just wolves, are they?” Liora asked, breathing heavily.

“No,” Ash said grimly. “Kael doesn’t travel with anything simple.”

They reached a curve in the corridor, and Ash suddenly yanked her, pressing her back against the cold stone.

He leaned in close, his body a shield blocking her from view. The air between them tightened, thick with heat and adrenaline.

Her pulse was racing not just from running but from the closeness of him. The way his breath brushed her cheek and how his eyes seemed to glow gold in the dim light was doing things to her concentration.

“Ash,” she began, but he raised a finger to her lips. “They’ll scent us if we move now,” he murmured. “Just stay still.” 

But it was almost impossible because his hand was braced above her head, the other still on her wrist, and she could feel a fine tremor running through him. It wasn't weakness but something else entirely.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. They were slow, deliberate, and terrifying. Something was hunting them with claws.

Her gaze locked on his face. “If we get out of this”

“When,” he corrected, his voice husky.

You're going to tell me everything.”

His mouth quirked at one corner, even though the tension in his jaw never eased. “Careful what you wish for. You might not like what you hear, little flame. The truth burns.”

The scrape of claws was closer now. Liora’s heart pounded, and without thinking, she reached for his chest, needing something solid to hold onto.

And then the sound stopped. Ash’s eyes narrowed.

In the stillness, she could hear her own breath and the soft hiss of his inhale. 

Then, without warning, he moved, spinning them so he was against the wall and she was in front of him, his hand at her back .

The wolf was horrible, more shadow than animal, with glowing silver eyes and ribs showing through its hide. It didn’t even glance their way. Ash had masked them somehow; she could feel the hum of magic under his skin.

They stayed pressed together until the sound of claws on stone faded away. Only then did Ash release her, slowly, as if he didn't want to.

“That was…” she began.

“Too close,” he finished. “Come on.”

They moved faster this time, the corridor opened into a vast underground room lit by shafts of moonlight streaming through cracks in the ceiling far above. In the center stood a broken statue of a woman crowned in flame “Serelai”.

“That's supposed to be me?”

“Yes,” Ash said softly. “You.”

Before she could speak, movement flickered in the shadows. More wolves, at least five, emerged from the dark. And behind them… Kael.

Only this time, he wasn’t smiling. His purple eyes were locked on her like she was the only thing in the room.

“You woke her up,” he said, his voice carrying across the room. “Good. Now she’ll come to me.”

Ash stepped forward, dagger in hand. “Over my dead”

“That can be arranged,” Kael cut in, his tone sounding almost bored.

The wolves spread out, circling them. Liora's chest tightened not from fear but from the strange pull she felt toward Kael, the same feeling she'd gotten from the journal and the altar. A whisper in her mind, soft and dangerous was telling her: *Come back to us. Come home.*

Her knees buckled and Ash caught her. The solid warmth of him cut through whatever spell Kael was trying to cast.

Kael saw it. “She feels it,” he said. “The connection between us was never broken, brother."

Ash’s voice was a growl. “She’s not yours.”

Kael tilted his head. “Not yet. But she remembers more every time you touch her.”

Liora’s head snapped up, heat rushing to her cheeks. Ash’s grip on her waist tightened but he kept staring at Kael.

“Then I’ll make sure she remembers me first,” Ash said.

Everything happened at once. Ash moved like lightning. The room exploded into chaos. Wolves lunged everywhere, Ash’s blade flashed

 Liora ducked and pulled out the journal from her bag.

The pages burst with silver light, and symbols lifted from them, spinning into the air like glowing shards.

A wolf came at her, and without thinking, she shoved the journal forward. Light slammed into the beast, sending it flying backward into a pillar. Another came from behind; Ash took it down with his dagger buried to the hilt.

But Kael wasn’t fighting. He was watching her. 

For a split second, she saw herself standing on a battlefield under a black sky, her hair crowned with fire, Kael kneeling before her with blood on his lips and devotion in his eyes.

The vision shattered when Ash grabbed her arm. “We’re leaving! We're getting out of here!”

They ran for a side exit while Kael’s voice echoed after them. “You can’t run from who you are, Liora!”

They didn’t stop until the room was far behind. The new corridor they found was narrow and uneven, lit only by Ash’s faint glow. He finally slowed, breathing hard.

Liora leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. “You were ready to die, you were going to let him kill you back there.”

His eyes locked on hers. “Better me than you.”

Something inside her twisted painfully. Before she could stop herself, she stepped closer and touched the side of his face, her hand brushing the line of his jaw where Kael’s magic had scorched it. He caught her wrist, not to stop her, but to keep her hand there.

“Why?” she whispered.

His voice came out rough. “Because I couldn’t bear to lose you. Not again.”

The silence between them was thick and electric. Her pulse hammered in her ears. She realized he was looking at her mouth, and for one crazy second, she thought he might close the distance and kiss her.

But then another howl echoed from somewhere above them, this one answered by a cry that was almost human.

Ash stepped back, his expression shuttered. "They're still tracking us. We need to keep moving."

She wanted to argue, to demand the moment back, but the urgency in his voice didn't leave room for argument. She followed, her heart still racing not from the danger but from the truth in his eyes when he’d said *again*.

Whatever lay between them, it wasn’t over. It was only the beginning.