The temple trembled under their feet.
Ancient stones cracked as the voice echoed again — a whisper drenched in both sorrow and power.
"Welcome home, my daughter."
Kael stood protectively over Liora, sword drawn, eyes scanning the flickering shadows that danced across the walls. Her body trembled, not from fear — but from something older, something inside her that refused to stay buried.
"She's here," Liora whispered, pressing her palm to the glowing floor. "Not in body. In memory. In magic. This entire ruin remembers her."
Kael gritted his teeth. "And it wants you to remember too, doesn't it?"
A low rumble echoed through the corridor ahead. The runes along the temple walls pulsed like a heartbeat.
Liora stood, slowly. Her eyes shimmered gold, brighter than before.
"She's pulling me in. Testing me," she said. "But I won't let her win."
They ventured deeper into the ruin.
The corridor narrowed, twisting into black stone tunnels. Kael kept close, torch in one hand, sword in the other. The air grew heavier with every step — not with heat, but with grief.
Paintings lined the walls — faded murals telling a forgotten story. Kael paused at one.
It showed a young queen cloaked in flame, holding a child in her arms. Beside her stood a northern prince — his face eerily similar to Kael's own.
"Your parents?" he asked softly.
Liora nodded.
"They built this place together — a sanctuary. A home where magic and love could exist side by side."
"What happened?"
Liora ran her fingers over the painting. "The curse. It came from the earth — from something ancient that neither of them understood. My mother thought she could use it. My father tried to seal it away."
"And failed."
She nodded again.
They reached a chamber at the center of the ruin — vast, circular, open to the broken sky above. Ash drifted through the air like snow. At the center of the room was a blackened throne, long abandoned… or so it seemed.
And then — the shadows moved.
A figure stepped from the darkness. Tall. Regal. Draped in robes that burned without flame. Her face was ageless — beautiful, haunting, and wrong. Her eyes burned the same gold as Liora's… but colder. Hollow.
"Mother," Liora whispered.
The Queen of Flame smiled.
"My child," she said. "Still clinging to the broken world your father died for."
Kael stepped forward. "She's not alone."
The queen tilted her head, amused. "Ah. The prince of Valmere. You carry your ancestor's scent — the ones who hunted my bloodline to extinction. And now you protect the last spark? How poetic."
Kael raised his sword. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me."
"I already have," the queen said simply — and waved her hand.
The earth erupted.
A wave of ash and heat slammed into Kael, throwing him backward into the wall. His sword skittered across the floor.
Liora screamed.
Flames rose around her, wild and untamed — but not hers. Her mother's fire coiled like a serpent, trying to bind her.
"You can't fight me," the queen hissed. "You are me."
"No!" Liora shouted, pushing back with her own fire. "I'm not your legacy. I'm my father's daughter."
The flames clashed — golden and red — lighting the entire chamber in a storm of magic. The runes on the walls flared, reacting to the raw power between mother and daughter.
Kael staggered to his feet, bruised but alive. He saw Liora struggling, her knees buckling.
He had no magic. No prophecy.
But he had her.
Kael ran, grabbing his sword, and leapt between the flames. The heat seared his skin — but he didn't stop. Not until he stood beside her again.
"You're stronger than her," he said, gripping her hand. "Not because of fire. Because you still love."
Liora looked at him — and something shifted in her.
The flames in her eyes no longer trembled.
They rose.
With a cry that shook the chamber, Liora unleashed a burst of pure fire — not destructive, but cleansing. The queen screamed as the flames struck her, not burning her flesh… but her memory.
The illusion shattered.
The throne cracked.
And the Queen of Flame vanished like a shadow in the dawn.
Silence.
Kael collapsed beside Liora, breath ragged. Her fire had gone out, but her hand remained warm in his.
He looked at her — at the girl who had once been a weapon, now choosing her own path.
"You saved me," she whispered.
He shook his head, smiling faintly. "No. You saved me."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, in the quiet heart of the ruin, Kael leaned closer.
And kissed her.
Soft. Brief. Honest.
When they pulled apart, Liora smiled — the first true smile he'd seen from her since they met.
But the earth still rumbled.
"I think we just woke something worse," she whispered.