Shatterspell

CHAPTER TWELVE – “Shatterspell”

The spell chamber reeked of smoke and old iron. Candles lined the walls, burning with flames too still to be natural. Rowan stood at the center, shifting her weight uneasily, her eyes fixed on the figure who had summoned her.

Headmistress Vale.

The woman’s black robes shimmered like ash in wind, her face sharp and unreadable. She leaned lightly on her staff, though Rowan doubted the woman needed it.

“You asked for me,” Rowan said, her voice tight.

Vale’s lips curved faintly. “I did not ask. I summoned. There is a difference.”

Rowan bristled. “Why?”

Vale circled her slowly, her steps silent. “Because you, dear child, are standing on the edge of a knife. And knives cut both ways.”

“I’m not a child.”

“No,” Vale agreed softly. “You’re something far more dangerous.”

Rowan clenched her fists. “I didn’t come here for riddles.”

Vale stopped in front of her, lowering her voice. “Then I will give you truth. You are being hunted. The mark you carry is not a gift, it is a summons. Others sense it, even if they cannot name it. Sooner or later, fear will outweigh reason.”

Rowan’s throat tightened. “So what? I’m supposed to run? Hide?”

Vale’s eyes glimmered. “No. You are supposed to choose. I can strip the mark from you. Burn it out, seal it, make you human again. No fire, no curse, no target.”

The words struck like ice. Rowan’s chest heaved. “Make me human again?”

Vale nodded. “It is mercy. You can walk away from all of this—before it devours you.”

Rowan shook her head, stunned. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am always serious.”

The candles flickered as Vale stepped closer. “Think of it, Rowan. No clans clawing for you. No Oracle spouting riddles about your doom. No boy with cursed fire dragging you into battles you cannot win. Just… your life. Free. Ordinary. Safe.”

Rowan’s jaw clenched. Images rushed through her mind—her mother’s quiet face back in her hometown, the small life she’d left behind. But then Kai’s scarred hand flashed in her memory, his voice at Firespire Cliff: You’re not a curse.

Rowan lifted her chin. “No.”

Vale’s brow arched. “No?”

“I didn’t ask for this, but it’s mine now. I won’t let you rip it away like it doesn’t matter. Like I don’t matter.”

Vale studied her for a long beat, then let out a slow, humorless laugh. “So be it. But understand me, child. If you refuse me tonight, you have chosen war. And wars consume everything.”

Rowan’s breath caught, but she forced herself to meet Vale’s cold stare. “Then I’ll fight.”

Vale tilted her head. “Very well. You have made your choice.”

The candles guttered out, plunging the chamber into darkness.

⸻

Rowan stumbled back into her dorm later, head pounding. Vale’s words clung like smoke in her chest. Turn human again. Walk away. Safe.

She pressed her palms to the desk, breathing hard. She almost wanted to believe it had been a dream.

A whisper crawled across her walls. The air thickened. The mark on her arm burned like iron.

Rowan froze. “What—”

The door behind her pulsed with a red glow. Runes lit up, circling the frame. Power snapped through the air.

Her body locked. She gasped as pain shot through her chest. Her fire surged—then collapsed in on itself, as if clamped shut by invisible chains.

Her knees buckled. She clawed at the floor, breath jerking, her limbs seizing against her will.

“No—” Her voice cracked. “Not like this.”

The runes brightened, searing white. The spell closed tighter.

Rowan collapsed fully, her cheek hitting the stone. Every breath was a battle. Her mark flared, but her fire couldn’t answer. She was choking on silence where flame should be.

The door crashed open.

“Rowan!”

Kai’s voice.

Through her haze, she saw him shove past the barrier, flames exploding around his body. The runes fought back, sparking against him, but he tore through the magic with sheer force.

He dropped to his knees beside her, hands shaking as he touched her shoulders. “Stay with me. Don’t you dare leave me.”

Rowan tried to speak, but only a broken rasp escaped.

Kai’s eyes blazed. “Who did this?” His voice shook with fury. “Who put this on you?”

Her vision blurred, but she clutched weakly at his sleeve. The words slipped out, barely a whisper. “Vale.”

Rage tore across his face.

The runes still hissed along the doorframe, but Kai’s fire surged hotter, snapping each thread of magic until nothing remained but scorch marks on the walls.

He lifted Rowan carefully into his arms. Her body was limp, her skin clammy with sweat. She leaned against his chest, struggling to breathe.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he muttered fiercely, his jaw clenched. “I’ve got you.”

Rowan wanted to tell him she wasn’t giving up. That she wasn’t weak. But the words wouldn’t come.

Kai carried her out into the corridor, his footsteps heavy with rage. Every student they passed shrank back at the sight—his arms full of Rowan, flames dripping down his shoulders, eyes burning like wildfire.

He stopped once they were clear of the dorm, his chest heaving. He looked down at her, then back toward the shadows of the academy.

“They want war,” he said, his voice like thunder. Flames danced down his arms, licking his fists. “Let them have it.”