Between Fire and Darkness
The fire around them raged. A violent, golden storm that clashed against the abyss's hungry shadows.
Zyra held on to Kieran with everything she had.
His body was burning and freezing at once, his skin feverish under her touch. The golden light flickering in his irises was fighting to stay.
The darkness didn't want to let go.
A deep, furious growl rumbled through the abyss.
"You think you can take him from me?"
Zyra's heart slammed against her ribs.
The Dark God was angry.
No—furious.
She gritted her teeth, planting herself between Kieran and the swirling shadows that slithered toward him.
Her flames exploded outward, pushing the darkness back.
"I'm not taking him," she spat. "I'm saving him."
The abyss shuddered.
And then—it attacked.
---
A Battle of Will
The shadows lunged, a monstrous tide crashing toward them.
Zyra threw up a wall of fire, but the darkness coiled around it, smothering it, twisting through the cracks.
The Dark God's voice slithered into her mind.
"You think he belongs to you? To this world? He was always mine, little queen."
A violent, unbearable pull yanked at Kieran's body.
He choked, his back arching, his hands clawing at the air.
The darkness was trying to drag him back.
And this time—it was winning.
"No, no, no," Zyra lunged forward, grabbing his face.
His golden eyes flickered—barely holding on.
She could see him slipping.
His body trembled violently, caught between two worlds, two fates.
"Kieran!" she shouted, forcing him to look at her.
His gaze was unfocused, distant—
Like something else was speaking through him.
"Let me go."
Zyra's breath caught.
No.
That wasn't him.
That was the abyss speaking through his lips.
She tightened her grip on him, shaking her head.
"I don't let go," she whispered fiercely. "Not of you. Never of you."
Her fire flared hotter.
And this time—it wasn't just hers.
A flicker of golden flame—not her fire, not her magic—rose within the shadows.
Kieran's fire.
Buried. Weak.
But still there.
Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs.
He's still fighting.
And if he was fighting—then so was she.
---
The Fire That Defies Fate
Zyra didn't hesitate.
She dove into the abyss with him.
Her fire surged inside his soul, reaching, searching, burning through the darkness.
And she found him.
Buried beneath the weight of shadows.
Drowning in a sea of whispers.
But still Kieran.
Still hers.
She grabbed him—not just his body, but his spirit, his essence.
"Come back to me," she breathed.
And then—she kissed him.
The world exploded.
Fire and light detonated outward, crashing into the abyss, shattering the hold it had on him.
Kieran gasped, his body jerking violently as golden light rushed back into him.
The Dark God screamed.
"No!"
Zyra felt the rage, the pain, the fury ripple through the void.
The abyss shrieked—and then it was collapsing.
The shadows recoiled, burning away in waves of gold and fire.
And Zyra held Kieran tighter as the world around them shattered.
---
The Abyss Retreats—For Now
They hit the ground, hard.
Zyra coughed, gasping for air. Her limbs were shaking, her flames barely flickering now.
But they were out.
No more abyss.
No more shadows.
Only the ruined, scorched battlefield beneath them.
And Kieran—
Kieran was breathing.
His chest rose and fell, his body still trembling, his golden eyes fluttering open.
But this time—they were only gold.
No abyss.
No darkness.
Just him.
Zyra's throat tightened.
He was here.
She had won.
But the moment only lasted a second.
Because Kieran suddenly gripped her arm.
And his voice—**raw, urgent—**sent ice through her veins.
"Zyra," he rasped.
She froze.
His gaze locked onto hers—wide, burning with something she had never seen before.
"He's not done."
The world lurched.
And behind them—the abyss opened again.
---