The chamber of mirrors vanished the moment Seraphina made her choice.She didn’t speak it aloud. She didn’t need to.The flame—the First Flame—responded to her heart.A soft hum of power filled the space as the ember fused completely with her soul. Her body glowed faintly, no longer crackling wildly with fire, but pulsing like a steady heartbeat. Controlled. Whole.Rowan watched in awe. “You look… like yourself again.”She smiled. “I feel like myself. Not just fire. Not just fury. Me.”Their moment was short-lived.A low groan rumbled from deep within the cavern. The wall behind them shifted, ancient mechanisms creaking as black stone peeled away to reveal a narrow staircase carved into obsidian.Kael’s voice echoed down the passage, strained but strong. “Seraphina!”Lucien and Mira followed close behind as the three warriors stumbled into view.“You’re alive,” Mira breathed, eyes wide as she saw Seraphina’s glowing skin.Seraphina ran to them, hugging Mira first, then gripping Lucien
The fall wasn’t clean. Seraphina tumbled through darkness, Rowan’s hand clutched tightly in hers. Ash and embers flew around them like falling stars. For a moment, there was only silence—and then impact. They landed hard, but not painfully. The ground beneath them pulsed with warmth, soft and strange. Seraphina gasped, her lungs filling with thick, smoky air as she rolled onto her side. “Rowan?” she called, coughing. “Here.” His voice came from a few feet away. She turned and saw him sitting up, brushing black dust off his jacket. “You okay?” “Mostly.” She stood slowly, using the wall for balance. “Where are we?” They were in a cavern far beneath the Ashspire. The walls were alive—veins of glowing ember ran through black stone, lighting the vast chamber with a dull, reddish hue. The space thrummed with power—raw, ancient, and angry. And then she saw it. In the center of the cavern stood a stone altar. Chains forged of obsidian curled around it like vines strangling a tree. R
Seraphina knelt, her shoulders shaking.The Hollow Queen stood behind her, one hand resting on her crown of flame.“You’re already halfway there. Just say yes. Let me in.”“I can’t…”“Yes, you can.”The heat pressed closer. Her vision swam. Her heartbeat slowed.And then—light.A voice.Soft. Familiar.“Hey. Don’t let her win.”Seraphina blinked.The landscape shimmered.And Rowan stepped through the flame.He looked just like he had before—messy hair, leather coat, stubborn expression.But he wasn’t a memory. He was real.The Queen snarled. “You have no place here.”Rowan stepped between them. “I always had a place with her.”Seraphina stared, disbelief mixing with hope. “Rowan?”He smiled. “Hey, Fireheart.”She nearly collapsed. But he caught her, holding her tight.“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. “She’s in everything.”“Then burn her out.”“I can’t.”“Yes, you can.” Rowan touched her chest. “Because this fire—it’s yours. Not hers. Never hers.”The Queen laughed, high and
Inside the Ashspire, the air changed.The world dimmed. Magic crackled in the stones. Old magic—feral and ancient. It tugged at Seraphina’s flame like a magnet. She could feel the Hollow Queen’s presence here.Not physical.But close.Mira set wards as they moved. Rowan stayed near the back, still weak, but his senses were sharp.“This place is a wound,” he said. “The Queen carved her power here. It’s soaked into the stone.”Kael ran his fingers along the wall. “It’s… humming.”Seraphina turned a corner—and found a staircase spiraling down into the dark.Lucien lit a torch. “If this is a trap, it’s very well-decorated.”They descended.Each step felt heavier. The pressure built, like the air itself didn’t want them there.At the bottom—A chamber.Black stone. Glowing veins of red magic inlaid in the floor. A mirror stood at the center—tall, oval, made of obsidian.And inside the mirror… her.The Hollow Queen.Or a reflection of her.She turned slowly, golden eyes locking on Seraphina
That night, Seraphina couldn’t sleep.The world felt too still, like the silence before a scream.She sat beside Rowan again, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. It brought her comfort she didn’t want to admit. He was alive. That had to count for something.“I keep thinking about what the Hollow Queen said,” she whispered, knowing he might not respond.But Rowan turned his head slightly. “What part?”“That I’d become like her.”“You won’t.”“You don’t know that.”“I do,” he said, eyes opening. “Because you chose to save me.”“She did too. Once.”“No.” Rowan’s voice was firm. “She chose power. You chose me.”Seraphina was quiet.Then: “It doesn’t feel like enough.”Rowan closed his eyes again. “It is.”⸻Dawn came gray and heavy.The team moved fast. Quiet. Efficient.By midday, they reached the edge of the final ridge. The Ashspire loomed ahead—massive, ancient, terrible. It rose from a field of blackened stone, surrounded by craters and bones.And waiting at the base… a lin
Footsteps approached. Kael.He nodded toward the trees. “Lucien’s back. Found a river, fresh water. And… something else.”Seraphina stood. “What?”Kael’s face was unreadable. “Smoke. From the east. A village.”Lucien emerged from the trees a moment later, carrying a satchel of herbs and two rabbits. “Could be a refugee camp,” he said, tossing the satchel to Mira. “Or a Hollowborn slaughter.”Seraphina looked at Rowan. Still unmoving.“I can’t leave him.”Kael put a hand on her shoulder. “Then I’ll go. Alone.”Lucien scowled. “That’s stupid.”“I’m faster on my own. If there’s danger, I’ll signal. If not, I’ll bring back whatever help I can find.”Seraphina hesitated, then nodded.Kael touched her hand briefly before disappearing into the trees, his shadow swallowed by pine.⸻Hours passed.Rowan stirred once, groaning. But didn’t wake.Seraphina stayed beside him, the others quiet in the background. Mira collected herbs. Lucien patrolled. But the tension was rising, thick as smoke.The