The Fireborn Heir

CHAPTER TWO – “The Fireborn Heir”

Rowan woke to the scent of smoke—and something softer.

Ash and roses.

She blinked, squinting against the warm golden light filtering through stained-glass windows. The ceiling above her was domed and painted with twisting dragons—wings unfurled, mouths open in silent roars, frozen mid-flight. Magic pulsed faintly in the air, like the room itself was breathing.

Where…?

She sat up fast. Pain flashed behind her eyes, sharp and sudden. She groaned and reached for her head, only to realize she wasn’t in a hospital cot. She was lying on velvet sheets, wrapped in silk, surrounded by floating orbs of fire that hovered silently in the air like sentinels.

Definitely not the nurse’s station.

A figure shifted by the doorway.

She stiffened.

Kai Stormrider leaned against the stone wall, arms folded. His black jacket was scorched along one sleeve, and faint golden scales shimmered along the edge of his collarbone. His storm-dark hair hung damp across his brow, and his eyes—still that impossible red—watched her with a guarded intensity.

“You’re awake,” he said, his tone unreadable.

Rowan narrowed her eyes. “Obviously.”

He didn’t react. “You shouldn’t be.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up straighter. “I feel fine. I mean, sort of. What happened? The gym—”

“You burned it down.”

She blinked. “I—what?”

Kai pushed off the wall and crossed the room in a few steps. “Human girl. No bloodline. No known elemental power. Bursts into ancient flame and walks out without a scratch. Sound familiar?”

Rowan swallowed. “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. It just—happened. I don’t know how.”

“And that,” Kai said coldly, “is why you’re dangerous. That kind of fire doesn’t just wake up for no reason. It’s not supposed to exist in someone like you.”

“I’m not dangerous,” she said, though it sounded weak even to her own ears. “I’m not even magical. I’m just… me.”

He reached into his coat and pulled out a small crystal. It shimmered orange and gold, pulsing with light. He tossed it onto the bed beside her.

Rowan stared at it. The flame inside moved with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

“That’s a flame core,” Kai said. “It holds magic—usually trace amounts. Yours is full. Burning. That’s not normal.”

Her fingers hovered over the crystal. “Then what does it mean?”

“It means you’re not human,” he said. “Not entirely.”

Rowan blinked. “Excuse me?”

Kai exhaled slowly, like he didn’t want to say it but had no choice. “Once every thousand years, a girl is born with what they call the Dragonheart. It’s raw, ancient fire. Untamed. She doesn’t come from a bloodline. She doesn’t inherit it. It just… appears. In her.”

Her lips parted. “And you think I’m her?”

He looked at her—really looked. “I don’t think. I know. I felt it when our fires touched. Yours didn’t repel mine. It resonated.”

She frowned. “Resonated how?”

He stepped closer. “It answered me. Flame doesn’t do that unless it recognizes something it belongs to. And it only answers to its match.”

A cold feeling settled in her chest. “So what does that mean for me?”

“It means you’re bonded,” Kai said. “To me.”

Rowan froze.

He nodded, reading the disbelief in her face. “It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t choose this. But I’m the heir to the fire dragons. And you’re the only one who can awaken that part of me—or destroy it.”

She stood abruptly, the crystal still pulsing beside her. “You’re telling me… that I somehow have fire magic passed down from dragons—and that we’re… bonded?”

Kai’s expression remained still. “Yes.”

She took a shaky breath. “That’s insane. I’m just a scholarship girl from Hollowridge. My mom was a waitress. I don’t even know who my dad is. I’ve never done magic in my life.”

“You have now,” he said. “And it wasn’t small. Your fire wasn’t human. It called something bigger. It lit up half the school.”

Rowan backed up a step. “This is too much. I don’t want any of this.”

“You think I do?” Kai’s voice snapped, sharp. “Do you know what happens if your power goes unchecked? The Dragonheart doesn’t stay quiet. It builds. And if you can’t control it—if you reject it—it’ll kill you. And probably take out half the continent doing it.”

She swallowed hard. “So what? I’m a walking bomb?”

“Worse,” he said. “You’re a flame looking for something to burn.”

Her knees hit the edge of the bed, and she sank back down, overwhelmed.

Kai moved toward her again, slower this time. “That’s why I’m here. Not to scare you. To help you survive it.”

She looked up at him, cautious. “Why you?”

“Because I’m the only one who can,” he said simply. “Only the fire heir can bond with the Dragonheart without dying.”

Rowan crossed her arms. “And if I don’t want to bond?”

He didn’t flinch. “Then eventually, your power will destroy both of us.”

She froze. “Both?”

Kai’s voice dipped. “We’re tethered now. When our fires met in the gym, it sealed the link. If you lose control, it burns through me too.”

Her lips parted. “That’s… insane.”

He nodded once. “It is.”

They stared at each other, the air between them flickering with heat neither one of them understood.

After a moment, she spoke again. “So what happens now?”

Kai studied her. “Now you train. You learn to control it. And you stop pretending you’re ordinary.”

She laughed bitterly. “And if I fail?”

His expression darkened. “Then we both go down in flames.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then, gently, he added, “But I don’t think you’ll fail.”

She blinked. “Why not?”

Kai’s eyes softened—just barely. “Because your fire called mine. And fire doesn’t lie.”

Then, barely above a whisper:

“And I think it’s you.”