Novel & Cerita Old Flame Rekindled

The pendant settled around my neck, clasping shut on its own, sealing itself as though it had chosen me rather than the other way around. Visions stormed into my mind, memories that did not belong to me but pulsed as though they were etched into my blood. I saw a woman draped in fire, her eyes glowing like suns, standing before a battlefield littered with wolves. She raised her hands, and the earth itself trembled as flames swept through her enemies, bending at her command. Her voice echoed inside my skull—You are the flame reborn. Burn not to destroy, but to reignite what was lost.

And then they sang—not a war song, not a victory chant, but the old lullaby once sung to new Flamekeepers: “Let the spark become the flame, Let the flame become the path, Let the path become the story— That no shadow can outlast.” As the final notes faded into the wind, Serena looked at the flame once more. And the flame… smiled.

"I'll be fine. You should hurry up and go. It's not nice to be late." Eventually, Zeke's car drove off. I submitted my paperwork and checked the date on my phone. After doing some calculations, I realized that I was leaving the country in five days. After I returned home, I began scrolling through social media. I came across a video of Howard Carter kissing his girlfriend passionately. After the happy couple had their moment, the crowd began to urge Zeke and Scarlett to do the same. "You have a wonderful woman beside you, Zeke. You should seize the opportunity when it presents itself to you," Howard told Zeke with a smile. He turned to look at Scarlett as he spoke.

“I come to ask you—to believe in each other. In justice. In mercy. In renewal. The Flame is yours now. Guard it well.” And from within the crowd, someone began to sing. A hymn long banned by the former Elders. Others joined. The Flame had found its chorus. ------ The Covenant Reclaimed: The sun had long dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky bathed in hues of violet and crimson. The towers of the High Cathedral rose like obsidian teeth against the sky, but within, a new warmth had begun to kindle in every stone, every corridor.

Between us… a torch glowed. A single, silent flame. But the firelight carried no warmth. It carried a warning. The flame flickered again in the distance- steady and defiant. Not one of ours. Kane saw it too. “They lit it.” My voice trembled. “The Flame of Challenge.” No one had lit that ancient signal in a hundred years. Not since the last binding war between packs, when blood was spilled to settle a contested claim. Lighting it now wasn’t just a warning. It was a declaration.

She didn’t even seem to be taking a breath. He caught that finger in his hand before it went flying up his nose. Sweet tingles and flames ran up both their arms at the touch. Her mouth finally stopped moving as she gaze stared at my hand clasping hers. She had to feel that. He’ll, see that. Keegan had heard the mate bond could create tingles of the skin when emotions were high, but he had never heard anyone mention sparking flames before. That had to do something with her. The flames weren’t burning us. Just running over our skin. Her mouth hung open as she finally looked up into my eyes.

"Like you, I was reborn. I returned to the moment you called me in our previous life. But this time, I didn't receive a call from you, so I assumed the same thing must have happened to you. "I was pressed for time back then, so I couldn't inform you. I broke my company's regulations to use the helicopter. Coincidentally, a friend of mine who works as a firefighter was doing a fire safety inspection at my office, so I brought him along." I looked at his side profile and felt my heart clench. He was my old neighbor who grew up with me. He had always protected me like a brother. Before I got married, he kept advising me against marrying Jared. We fought because of that, and I rarely reached out

he growls, but I don't answer and push him out of the way. Dropping to the floor, I take Delilah’s head in my lap once I get to her. All the anger I felt as I drove here vanishes as I hold Delilah in my arms. I pull her bloody, unmoving body close to my chest, and a pained growl is ripped from the depths of my soul. My heart tears apart as I hold her. Her wounds are so bad that my whole shirt is soaked with blood. I touch the marks these monsters left on her, and my heart hurts even more. This is my fault. I wish more than anything in the world that my family wasn't mine. Hatred toward my grandfather begins to take rootas I continue to hold Delilah. I will get revenge for what’s been done to

"For the West. For the Crescent Flame." I closed my eyes for one long breath. The air held the scent of ink, ash, and something else now, something blooming. "Then we begin at dawn. Send ravens to every loyal house still breathing. Call the Flame Guard. Summon the Warborn. Let the realm know the West rises again." The room echoed with the rustle of movement, purpose reborn. A beginning forged in fire. And as I looked once more to the map, flame flickering against the gold borders, I did not see ruin.

Inside, something warm keeps flickering. **To be continued…** (Small flames, deep roots.)