The girl slept soundly now, curled beneath the warmth of Kael's worn cloak near the edge of the stone altar. Aeris had sat by her side for hours, staring into the dancing embers Kael had conjured from the surrounding runes. She'd said little since his explanation. Words felt useless in the face of the storm that now lived inside her.
Kael, for his part, hadn't pressed. He'd sat across from her, his back resting against one of the cracked statues, watching her like a sentry. He didn't offer comfort or false hope—only silence, laced with patience.
At last, Aeris stirred, rubbing at her eyes before meeting his gaze. "You said I need to learn to control it," she said, her voice quiet but steady. "Where do we start?"
Kael rose in a fluid motion. "Outside. The Flame isn't something you tame in silence. You need to feel it move."
Aeris glanced toward the girl. "She shouldn't be left alone."
"She's safer here than anywhere else. The temple is warded." He offered a hand. "Come. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes."
With reluctance, Aeris followed him up a narrow staircase carved into the stone wall, lit only by glowing symbols embedded into the steps. They emerged into the dead of night, though the sky was unlike any she'd seen before. The stars above burned brighter, the constellations unfamiliar—this wasn't just deeper underground; it was somewhere else entirely. A sanctuary carved between realms.
A flat stretch of blackened rock spread before them, the remnants of ancient training grounds. Weapons long rusted lay embedded in stone. Burn marks marred the surface.
Kael walked to the center and turned. "The Flame isn't just fire. It's instinct. Emotion. Memory. It mirrors you. So tell me, Aeris—what are you afraid of?"
Aeris scoffed. "Is that really part of training?"
He stepped closer. "The Flame reacts to your emotions. If you fear it, it will lash out. If you suppress it, it will rebel. But if you know what drives you—what terrifies you, angers you, excites you—you can wield it."
Aeris frowned. "Then I guess I'm afraid of everything. Of not belonging. Of being used. Of becoming something I can't control."
Kael nodded. "Good. That's a start."
He extended his hand, and a ball of fire flared to life in his palm—elegant and contained, unlike the wild surges Aeris had felt in herself. "Now," he said. "Your turn."
Aeris swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling in her chest—the ever-present heat. It pulsed like a second heartbeat. She reached for it, and immediately it pushed back, wild and angry. Her hands trembled as warmth surged up her spine and into her limbs.
Come on… just a little…
A flash of light exploded from her fingers—wild and uncontrolled, the flames roaring upward like a dragon let loose. Kael moved fast, dousing the blaze with a single wave of his hand before it could reach her.
Aeris collapsed to her knees, panting, the ground scorched beneath her. "I can't do this," she whispered. "It's too much."
Kael crouched beside her. "It's not that you can't. It's that you haven't yet."
His hand touched her shoulder, and this time, she didn't flinch. "The first lesson of the Flame isn't control. It's trust. In yourself."
Aeris met his eyes. "That's the problem. I don't trust anyone—not even me."
Kael studied her for a long moment, then stood. "Then we'll break that piece by piece. Every day, until you do."
They trained until her arms were sore and her throat felt raw from the screams she hadn't meant to let out. Kael pushed her relentlessly—not cruel, but unyielding. She fell, rose, burned, and learned. Slowly, the wildness in her began to shift. Not quite tamed, but no longer mindless.
By the time the false sun in the sky began to rise—some glowing enchantment in the temple's illusionary dome—Aeris had created a small flickering orb of fire in her palm. Imperfect, flickering, but hers.
She stared at it, and for the first time, smiled. Just slightly.
Kael saw it, but said nothing.
---
Later that day, after they returned to the temple, Aeris knelt beside the sleeping girl. She gently brushed hair from her face and noticed the girl clutching something tightly in her tiny fist. Gently, she pried it open.
A charm. Silver and old, shaped like twin phoenixes curling around a stone the color of flame.
Aeris gasped softly.
"I've seen this before," she murmured.
Kael appeared beside her. "You have?"
"In my dreams," she said, her voice distant. "Always burning… always calling me." She looked up at him. "What is it?"
Kael looked at the charm with a complicated expression. "It's called a Pyrral Sigil. Only the blood of the Flame can awaken one."
She stared at the girl. "Then who is she?"
"I don't know," Kael said truthfully. "But she knew where to find you. And she's bound to you by something deeper than prophecy."
Aeris's gaze hardened with purpose. "Then we protect her. Just like I'll protect this Flame—whatever it is. If I'm meant to be its vessel, fine. But no more running."
Kael gave her a nod of quiet respect.
And in that chamber of stone, shadow, and old gods, the Flame breathed its first true breath through her.