Lyra hadn't spoken to anyone in two days.
Since the Veilwood.
Since the whispers.
Since Velora had smiled like a victor watching her favorite pawn move across the board.
She spent her time in the flight yard, sparring with Vesper, throwing glyphs into the air until her fingers bled, then wrapping them and starting again.
Each night, she dreamt of fire.
Each morning, she awoke with ashes on her skin.
No one else saw them.
But she knew they were real.
She was changing. The bondstone wasn't just glowing now—it pulsed. Like it was alive. Like it wanted something.
And part of her… wanted to give in.
"You've been avoiding me," Nico said, appearing beside her in the mess hall with a plate full of bread and smoked meat.
"I've been busy."
"You've been brooding," he corrected. "There's a difference."
She didn't argue.
Nico leaned closer, voice low. "There's talk. Some of the seniors say they saw you and Lucien disappear for days. That you brought something back."
"We didn't."
He raised a brow. "Didn't… or can't say?"
Lyra just stared at her tray.
Nico sighed. "Listen. Whatever's happening, don't let them isolate you. That's how they break the strong ones."
She glanced at him.
"You think I'm strong?"
He grinned. "You think you're not?"
That evening, she found herself walking the northern wing of the Academy—an old section that had been sealed for years.
A part of her didn't know why she came.
The other part knew exactly why.
The dreams.
The whisper in her head.
The hooded figure.
"Find the Flame Below."
She stopped at a rusted door marked with the sigil of the First Riders—dragons curling around a sunburst.
Her bondstone pulsed once—then flared.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Dust and cold greeted her like old friends.
She stepped inside.
It was a stairwell. Winding down, deeper than the Academy had any right to go. She lit her palm with a small flame and descended, Vesper padding behind her, eyes glowing in the dark.
At the bottom, the stair opened into a vast circular chamber.
The walls were carved with ancient glyphs—glyphs she didn't recognize. In the center was a dais, cracked and charred, surrounded by dragonbones arranged in a perfect ring.
On the floor lay a symbol.
The Ash Crown.
But it wasn't a carving.
It was burned into the stone.
And above it floated a book.
Old. Bound in black leather. Sealed with iron clasps etched in gold.
Her bondstone burned hot as she stepped forward.
"Don't touch it."
She spun.
Lucien stood in the archway, sword drawn, breath fogging in the cold.
"How did you—"
"I followed the bondstone's trail. It's glowing across half the Academy."
Lyra looked back at the book.
"It's calling me."
Lucien stepped closer, blade still ready.
"That's not a call. It's a trap. This is a remnant of the Ash Crown—one of their grimoires. They were sealed for a reason."
"I need answers."
"You need to stay alive."
They stared at each other.
And then Lyra reached out—
And touched the book.
The clasps snapped open.
Glyphs burst into the air like fireflies. The dragonbones rumbled. A wind howled through the chamber, and the symbol on the floor glowed white-hot.
The book opened itself.
And Lyra saw the first page.
Not words. Not runes.
A drawing.
Of a baby.
Cradled in flame.
With a birthmark on her shoulder.
The same mark Lyra had.
"Lyra," Lucien said tightly, stepping closer. "You need to put it down."
But she couldn't.
Her mind was spinning.
"I'm not just bonded," she whispered. "I'm—"
The chamber shook.
Vesper shrieked and jumped in front of her as a shadow rose from the symbol on the floor.
It was shaped like a dragon—yet not.
No wings. No eyes. No warmth.
A flame without light.
"Daughter of Ash," it said. "You have awakened us."
Lucien threw ice glyphs midair, slicing toward the shadow. They passed through harmlessly.
"You carry the flame that broke the Crown. You will carry it again."
"Who are you?" Lyra demanded.
The shadow's voice split into many.
"We are what was burned. We are what remains. And you… are what comes next."
Then—
The shadow vanished.
The glyphs fell.
And the book snapped shut.
Lucien grabbed her arm.
"You don't open doors when you don't know what's on the other side."
"I had to."
"No," he snapped, eyes sharp. "You wanted to. And you don't even know why."
She yanked her arm free.
"I know enough."
"You know just enough to get yourself killed."
Silence.
Vesper growled lowly, but stayed back.
Lucien stepped closer.
"When you touched that book, your flame changed. It's darker now."
"Then help me understand it," she said. "Because I can't do this alone."
His jaw clenched. For a long moment, he didn't speak.
Then he said, "I'll help you. But on one condition."
"What?"
"Next time… we open the door together."
🔥 Teaser ~: Lyra begins to unlock secrets from the Ash Crown grimoire—secrets the High Council would kill to keep buried. And she's not the only one who wants what's inside.