Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Phoenix Bride Rises: Trust Was Her First Mistake : Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 113

Ash still hung in the air above the sanctuary’s spires, carried by the soft night breeze. The glow of ritual flame had ebbed, but the fire within the people, the loyalists, the awakened bloodline, the family of the Flamebearer, had just begun to burn.Within the heart of the sanctuary, Arla-Rosa lay resting, her breathing calm but shallow. The purification ritual had drained her, even with the strength of the Ignis Core sustaining her. Cedric sat by her side, her hand in his, his thumb gently tracing the flame-shaped birthmark that had emerged on her wrist. "She’s still with us," Amarantha whispered from the doorway, tears not of fear, but of relief. "She answered the spirits. And they answered back."Cassian and Celeste were tucked into the nearby divan, watching over their mother. Even in sleep, Cassian kept a hand near his device, data about leyline paths and residual Guxani signals still tracking in real-time. Celeste held her fox plush tight, murmuring to it, “Mommy's a queen of

Night fell over the Sanctuary, the moon hanging heavy and round in the velvet sky. The wind had stilled, and a hushed reverence cloaked the Flamebearer’s domain. Arla-Rosa sat alone in the ancient Meditation Grove, the twin trees of memory arching their silvery branches above her like guardians of time. She had been unable to sleep. The ceremony, the crown, her mother’s soft smile, it was all real. And yet, her heart remained knotted with shadows from lives she could not fully name.Amarantha’s rescue had gone well. The Guxani leaders had scattered, but part of her could not rest. Not yet. “Master Ye,” she whispered, clutching her bracelet. The bracelet flared softly in response. From its core, a voice answered: “You are ready.”Before she could question it, golden light spilled from the stones surrounding her, encircling her in a cocoon of sacred fire. The magic of the Sanctuary, tied to her very blood, had answered her longing for truth. Then, silence. And then, visions.She saw him