All Chapters of The Fire That Chose Me : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The gates of the haven creaked open as Rowan gave a low whistle, a signal that seemed both secret and ancient. Two guards emerged from the mist, their cloaks heavy with dew, their faces shadowed by hoods. At first, Evelynn’s chest tightened—ready for danger—but when the guards saw Rowan, they bowed their heads without question and pulled the stone-carved doors wider.Inside, the air was warmer, though tinged with the smoke of torches. The haven smelled of pine and earth, of iron and fire. It wasn’t a castle—not like the grand halls of storybooks—but it had strength in its bones. Stone corridors ran deep into the mountain, branching into chambers that glowed with steady lanterns.Evelynn’s boots scuffed against the floor as she followed Aiden inside. Relief rushed through her, sharp enough to sting her eyes. For days, it felt as though every step had been weighted with fear. Here, for just a breath, she could let her shoulders drop.Rowan spoke with the guards in a hushed tone, his wor

The next morning, Rowan showed no mercy.The cavern air was sharp with the scent of smoke and sweat, the ground scarred with yesterday’s failures. Evelynn stood in the center once more, her palms still blistered from the fire she had fought to control. Rowan circled her like a predator, his voice clipped and unrelenting.“Again,” he ordered.Her arms trembled. Sparks flickered across her skin, but no flame took shape. Her body screamed in protest, her chest heaving.“I can’t,” she gasped, her knees nearly buckling.“You can,” Rowan snapped. His eyes burned with a fierceness that cut deeper than any blade. “Cassian won’t wait for you to feel ready, Evelynn. If you hesitate, he’ll tear everything you love from you—and leave nothing but ashes.”Evelynn’s throat tightened. The fire flickered again, this time wilder, lashing out in a sharp burst that scorched the stone at Rowan’s feet. She staggered back, horrified.Aiden was at her side in an instant, his hand at her back. “That’s enough,

The night was no longer silent. It shattered with footsteps, shouts, and the sharp crack of branches breaking under heavy boots. Evelynn pressed her back to Aiden’s, her palms glowing with the fire that burned too bright to cage anymore. Every sound in the dark made her chest ache, as though the forest itself had turned into a trap around them.Aiden’s wolf form was a shadow of power at her side, his fur bristling, his growl rumbling low. She felt it in her bones more than in her ears, a vibration of fury waiting to strike. His eyes glowed in the dark like molten silver, fixed on the shadows.“Don’t hold back,” his voice pulsed through her mind, the telepathic link of wolf and fire and bond. It wasn’t a plea. It was a command.Evelynn’s breath caught. She raised her hands, and the fire leapt higher, spilling across her skin in golden threads. The hunters emerged from the tree line like shadows given flesh. Their black coats absorbed the moonlight, weapons glinting, eyes sharp. The sme

The ruins seemed to breathe around them, every broken stone and shattered archway alive with the memory of what had been. Evelynn’s hand trembled in Aiden’s as they stepped over roots and debris, the moonlight catching on the silver threads in his hair, making him look unreal—like a guardian born from the shadows themselves.“Do you really think this place will help us?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.Aiden didn’t answer immediately. He moved with careful precision, every step deliberate, every sense alert. “It will,” he said finally, his silver eyes scanning the ruins as if they could cut through centuries of dust and stone. “If we know how to listen.”Evelynn swallowed hard. She hated that she believed him—hated that part of her craved the certainty his presence brought—but she did. Every time she glanced at him, she felt a tether, a pulse of warmth that anchored her to the world even as it twisted into something dangerous.The heart of the ruins loomed ahead: a courtyard

The ruins were quiet now, but the silence was sharp, like a held breath that could shatter at any moment. Evelynn stood at the center of the chamber, her fingers still tingling from the contact with the dais, the fire within her humming with a newfound clarity. The guardian wolf of flames paced at her side, its heat radiating like a shield, a reminder that her power was no longer something she feared—it was something she commanded.Aiden watched her closely, every muscle taut, every sense alert. “You did it,” he murmured, his voice soft but firm. “You control it. You’re ready for whatever comes next.”She forced a shaky laugh, though her heart still raced. “Doesn’t feel like it. Feels… like it’s only just begun.”And she was right.A sudden movement at the edge of the chamber made her spin. Shadows twisted unnaturally, stretching and writhing, forming shapes that shouldn’t exist. The air thickened, cold and suffocating, and Evelynn’s pulse spiked. The fire within her surged, instincti