Chapter 12: The Heart That Shouldn’t Beat

The forest was gone.

Only smoke and silence remained.

Ash fell like snow, covering the ground and the ruins of what had been alive only hours ago. The air was heavy and strange, thick with magic that hadn’t faded yet. Every breath felt like it carried something that didn’t belong in this world anymore.

I knelt beside Revan, afraid to touch him. His skin was pale, almost gray, and his lips were cracked from the fire. His chest rose only enough to prove he was still here.

Jordan crouched beside me, his face streaked with dirt and blood. “He’s breathing,” he said quietly.

I nodded, but I couldn’t speak. The quiet between us felt wrong. Everything felt wrong.

When I finally did talk, my voice barely came out. “She’s gone.”

Jordan didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The look in his eyes said he knew.

Aria was gone. She’d stayed behind to seal the forest, and I’d let her.

Revan would never forgive me for that.

I brushed his hair from his forehead, my fingers trembling. “I should’ve stopped her.”

Jordan sat back, looking up at the sky that was finally turning gray with morning. “You couldn’t have stopped her, Lora. She made her choice.”

I looked at him, my throat tight. “And what choice do we have now?”

He didn’t answer right away. “We get him help. Then we figure out what the hell just woke up inside you.”

My hands froze on Revan’s chest. “You felt it too?”

Jordan nodded. “The whole ground shook when it happened. I thought it was the fire until I heard it.”

I swallowed. “The heartbeat.”

He looked at me. “That wasn’t normal, was it?”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t mine.”

The silence stretched between us again. I stared at the smoke rising from the trees, wondering if Aria had known this would happen. If she had sealed something more than just the forest.

The wind shifted, carrying the faint smell of blood. Not Revan’s. Not ours. Others.

Jordan’s eyes sharpened. “We need to move. If the Council sent scouts, they’ll be here soon.”

I didn’t move. “He can’t walk.”

“Then I’ll carry him.”

I looked up at him. He meant it. He was already lifting Revan’s arm over his shoulder, pulling him up like the weight didn’t matter.

“Jordan, you don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do,” he said quietly. “I owe him that much.”

The forest around us creaked and sighed as we made our way out, every sound feeling louder than it should. My body ached, my head throbbed, and my arm still glowed faintly under the dirt.

The marks from the flame hadn’t faded. They pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.

By the time we reached the edge of the clearing, I was shaking. My legs felt weak, but I didn’t stop. Not until we reached the small stream at the base of the hill.

Jordan lowered Revan carefully to the ground. “We’ll rest here.”

I knelt beside Revan again, wiping soot from his face with my sleeve. His breathing was uneven, shallow.

Jordan watched me for a moment, then said, “You should rest too.”

“I can’t.”

“You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine.”

He sighed softly, moving closer. “You don’t have to be.”

Something in his voice made me look at him. The way he said it wasn’t just about the forest. It was about everything.

“Don’t,” I said quietly.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

He gave a small, tired smile. “I don’t know how else to look at you.”

I looked away, my hands tightening on Revan’s arm. “He needs me right now.”

“I know.”

Jordan stood and walked to the edge of the stream, washing the blood from his hands. The sound of the water was soft, almost peaceful, but there was nothing peaceful in him.

He stayed quiet for a while before saying, “You know this isn’t over, right?”

I looked up. “What isn’t?”

“The prophecy. Whatever woke up in you. That thing in the forest wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.”

I didn’t want to hear that. But deep down, I knew he was right.

When the flame had exploded inside me, I’d felt something else. Something watching. Something waiting.

I touched my stomach. The heartbeat was still there. Stronger now.

Jordan turned back and saw what I was doing. “Lora?”

“It’s stronger,” I said.

He came closer, kneeling in front of me. “What do you mean?”

I took his hand and placed it against my stomach. “Listen.”

He froze. Then his eyes widened. “That’s not normal.”

I nodded. “It’s not the baby. It’s something else.”

He looked at me, his face pale. “It’s the flame, isn’t it?”

Before I could answer, Revan stirred.

His voice was hoarse. “Don’t touch her.”

Jordan pulled his hand back instantly. “Relax. I was making sure she’s alive.”

Revan opened his eyes, weak but burning with the same fire I remembered. “You don’t get to touch her. Not anymore.”

Jordan laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “You’re welcome, by the way. I carried you out while she tried to breathe again.”

Revan pushed himself up with effort. “You should’ve left me.”

“Not my style.”

I stood between them, tired of the same old fight. “Stop it. Both of you. Please.”

They went quiet.

Revan leaned against a tree, his breath uneven. “Where’s my mother?”

The question hit like a blade. I couldn’t lie. “She stayed.”

He stared at me, his face unreadable. “You let her?”

My throat burned. “She said she had to. She wanted to save you.”

He turned away, jaw tight. For a long time, he didn’t say anything. Then, quietly, “She always did.”

I wanted to reach for him, but something stopped me.

Jordan spoke first. “We should head to the mountains. The Stormfang border is close. We can rest there.”

Revan shook his head. “No. They’ll be looking for us. Especially after what she did.”

He looked at me. “You can’t hide now. Not after that power.”

“I didn’t mean to,” I said softly.

“I know.” His voice dropped lower. “That’s what makes it worse.”

The ground trembled faintly under us. Jordan looked around. “Did you feel that?”

Revan frowned. “It’s not an earthquake.”

Then it happened again. A soft, rhythmic pulse.

Not from the ground. From me.

The air shimmered faintly, the light around my arm glowing again. The gold marks brightened, spreading up toward my shoulder.

“Lora,” Jordan said carefully. “It’s happening again.”

“I can’t stop it.” My voice shook. “It’s not me this time.”

Revan moved closer. “The child?”

I nodded. “It’s awake.”

Before I could say more, the light burst out again, spreading across the ground in thin, glowing lines. They moved like veins, weaving through the dirt, pulsing to the rhythm of the heartbeat inside me.

Jordan stepped back. “What the hell is this?”

Revan’s eyes widened. “It’s calling something.”

The wind rose, swirling around us. The stream rippled backward, flowing the wrong way.

I dropped to my knees, clutching my stomach. The heat was unbearable, but I couldn’t scream.

Revan grabbed my shoulders. “Lora, look at me. Stay with me.”

“I can’t,” I whispered. “It hurts.”

Jordan knelt beside me. “Tell us what to do.”

I looked up at them both. “Run.”

Neither moved.

The ground cracked open behind us. A wave of golden fire shot up, twisting into the air. Through it, a shape began to form — not a man, not a wolf, but something between both. Eyes like molten amber, claws made of light.

Revan pulled me back. “Stay behind me.”

The creature’s voice filled the air, deep and calm. “You called me, little flame.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“It doesn’t matter. The bond is complete. The child carries what was once mine.”

Revan stepped forward. “Who are you?”

The creature looked at him. “Your ancestor. The first Stormfang. The one your mother feared.”

Jordan’s hand went to his sword. “And what do you want?”

The creature’s eyes turned to me. “To protect her. To prepare her.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want this.”

“You don’t have a choice. The moment the flame entered you, fate was sealed.”

Revan moved closer, standing between me and the creature. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

The creature smiled faintly. “You can’t stop what’s already written.”

Revan’s jaw tightened. “Then I’ll rewrite it.”

The creature’s golden eyes softened. “You sound just like her.”

“Who?”

“Aria,” he said. “She tried to fight destiny too.”

Revan froze.

I reached out, my voice shaking. “Please, just tell me what you want from me.”

The creature leaned closer, his voice almost gentle. “To teach you what you are before they find you.”

“Who’s they?”

Before he could answer, the wind changed again. A howl echoed through the trees — far, but closing fast.

Revan’s eyes darkened. “Rogues.”

Jordan drew his sword. “How many?”

“Too many.”

The creature’s form flickered. “My time here is short. When the moon rises again, follow the river north. The temple will find you.”

“What temple?” I asked.

He smiled, his body turning to light. “The one your mother died to protect.”

And then he was gone.

The glow faded. The forest went quiet again.

Revan turned to me, his voice low. “You heard him. We move north.”

Jordan looked at the trees, then at me. “If this keeps getting worse, what happens when the moon rises?”

I looked down at my glowing arm, then at the faint golden shimmer still clinging to the air.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “But I think the world’s about to find out.”

The heartbeat inside me pulsed again, louder than ever.