Chapter 16: The Voice That Knows Me

The ground shuddered. Dust fell from the ceiling in long gray streaks. Cracks split through the floor, cutting between the glowing symbols.

Revan grabbed my wrist. “Move.”

The temple’s hum turned into a roar. The air thickened, and the walls began to shake like the whole place was breathing too fast. Jordan was already pulling me toward the nearest archway.

“Where does this lead?” I shouted.

“Anywhere that’s not here,” he said.

The arch split as we ran through it. Behind us, the crystal in the center of the room burst into light. For a heartbeat everything was white. Then it collapsed inward, sucking the air with it.

The tunnel we ran through was narrow and steep. The walls were slick with water, the floor uneven. Each step sent pain through my legs, but I didn’t stop.

Revan was behind me, his hand at my back. “Faster.”

“I’m trying.”

Jordan was ahead, his blade glowing faintly with the same gold light that came from my arm.

He looked over his shoulder. “You’re lighting everything up again.”

“I can’t help it.”

The glow was spreading across the walls now, the same markings that had been in the temple. The tunnel seemed endless. I could feel heat building again under my skin, but I held it back. The last time I let it go, I’d burned everything in reach.

After a while the air changed. It smelled damp and metallic, like rain on old stone. The tunnel opened into a cavern so large I couldn’t see the ceiling.

A river ran through it, glowing faintly blue.

Jordan slowed. “Tell me that’s not the same river.”

Revan shook his head. “It’s older. It runs beneath everything. It’s what feeds the one above.”

I crouched near the water, touching it. It was cold, but the instant my fingers broke the surface, the glow changed color—gold, the same as the marks on my arm.

Revan caught my hand. “Don’t.”

“It’s reacting,” I said.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Before I could answer, a sound echoed through the cavern. A voice. Soft. Small.

“Don’t be afraid.”

I froze. “Did you hear that?”

Jordan looked around. “Hear what?”

Revan’s eyes darkened. “The child again?”

I nodded slowly. “It’s clearer now.”

“You opened the gate,” the voice said. “Now I can see.”

I closed my eyes. The voice was inside my head, but it didn’t sound like mine. It was younger, calm, and far too knowing.

“What gate?” I whispered.

“The one between what is and what was.”

Revan frowned. “What is it saying?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure.”

“You woke them,” the voice said. “They’re coming.”

The air turned cold. Revan’s grip on me tightened. “Lora, we have to go.”

“Go where?”

“Upstream.”

We followed the underground river. The path wound between black stone walls, the water glowing brighter as we moved. The sound of the collapsing temple faded behind us, replaced by a low, steady rumble from somewhere deep below.

Jordan kept glancing back. “I think she’s right. We’re not alone.”

I heard it too—a faint scraping sound, metal against rock. Then another.

Revan growled under his breath. “Keep moving.”

We ran again. The river curved, and the tunnel opened wider. A faint light appeared ahead, pale and steady.

When we reached it, the space widened into another chamber, smaller than the first but filled with carved pillars. In the center stood a stone altar covered in symbols.

Jordan looked around. “You think this is another temple?”

Revan studied the carvings. “More like a passage. These marks are older. They tell the story of the first flame.”

I walked closer. The carvings glowed faintly where I passed. They showed wolves and humans standing side by side, their hands raised to a single light in the sky. Then lower on the wall, I saw figures fighting, tearing each other apart.

“The war,” I whispered.

Revan nodded. “The beginning of it.”

Jordan ran a hand over another panel. “This one looks different.”

I turned. It showed a woman holding a child wrapped in fire, standing between two armies. Behind her, the moon and sun overlapped, their light joining.

“She looks like you,” Jordan said quietly.

I stared at the carving, my heart pounding. “It’s the prophecy.”

Revan stepped closer. “No. It’s a warning.”

Before I could ask what he meant, the scraping sound came again. Louder.

Something moved in the dark beyond the pillars.

Revan pulled me behind him. Jordan lifted his sword.

Then the shadows split.

Figures emerged—six of them, maybe more. All wore black armor that shimmered faintly. Their eyes glowed blue, not red.

Jordan whispered, “Not Darkborn.”

Revan’s face hardened. “No. Council hunters.”

The lead figure stepped forward. “By order of the Council, surrender the girl.”

Revan growled. “You’re late.”

“She carries forbidden power,” the hunter said. “We can contain it.”

Jordan laughed bitterly. “You mean kill it.”

The hunter raised his hand. “You don’t understand what you’re protecting.”

I stepped forward before Revan could stop me. “I understand enough.”

The hunter’s gaze fixed on me. “Then you know the world cannot survive what grows inside you.”

I met his eyes. “Maybe it can’t survive without it.”

He hesitated. “You’re already losing control. The fire spreads faster than the body can hold.”

Revan moved between us. “She’s not yours to decide.”

The hunter drew his blade. “Then we’ll take her by force.”

The others moved in.

Revan met the first one before he could strike, claws flashing. Jordan joined him, steel against steel. The air filled with the sound of fighting again—sharp, brutal, too fast to follow.

I stood frozen, the voice in my head whispering louder now. “You can stop this.”

“How?” I whispered.

“Let me out.”

“I can’t.”

“You must.”

I looked around. Revan was bleeding again. Jordan was outnumbered. The hunters were closing in.

The voice grew stronger. “If you don’t, they die.”

I felt the fire rise again, climbing through me like a tide. I didn’t fight it this time. I let it come.

Light burst from my chest, blinding and hot. The hunters stopped, shielding their faces. The glow filled the whole chamber, and for a moment, everything went silent.

Then the light shifted, forming shapes around me. Wings. Fire. The same golden mark burned into the ground beneath my feet.

Revan shouted my name, but I couldn’t answer. The power wasn’t just in me anymore—it was me.

The voice spoke again, clearer than ever. “They cannot kill what was born of both.”

The hunters screamed as the fire swept through them, turning their armor to ash.

When it was over, the room was quiet again. The light faded slowly, leaving only smoke and the faint sound of water.

Revan was on his knees, staring at me. His voice shook. “Lora, what did you do?”

“I don’t know.”

Jordan came closer, blood on his face. “They’re gone.”

Revan looked around the burned chamber. “No. They’ll send more.”

I pressed my hand to my stomach. The glow was gone now, but the heartbeat inside me was stronger than ever.

The voice came again, softer this time. “They will hunt you until the choice is made.”

“What choice?” I whispered.

“Who lives when the fire ends.”

Revan touched my shoulder gently. “You’re shaking.”

“I think it’s not over.”

The ground trembled again, but softer this time, like something breathing beneath us. The markings on the walls began to fade.

Jordan looked toward the tunnel. “We have to move.”

Revan nodded. “Before this place collapses too.”

I followed them, but before I stepped through the arch, I looked back one last time. The carvings of the woman and child glowed faintly before fading completely.

The words of the voice still echoed in my head.

Who lives when the fire ends.

I didn’t know what it meant yet. But I knew it would destroy me when I found out.