POV: Kael 🗡️🔥❄️
It was supposed to be a simple errand — escort Ariya to the edge of the Emberwood to retrieve an enchanted flower Lyra needed for potion work.
But Kael had learned long ago that nothing with Ariya ever stayed simple.
Especially now.
She was quieter than usual as they walked. One hand rested on her dagger. The other kept drifting to the mark on her shoulder — the one now half-touched by cold silver light.
"Nightmares again?" he asked gently.
She nodded but said nothing.
Kael didn't press. He'd learned that sometimes the best way to help her was to stay close… and wait.
They reached the clearing near the Veilpond just before dusk.
The flowers shimmered along the water's edge — soft, blue, and glowing with faint enchantment. Ariya knelt, brushing her fingers over the petals.
"You ever think about who planted these?" she asked.
"Someone who didn't expect war."
"Or someone who did… and wanted beauty to fight it."
He didn't have a reply for that. He just watched her, struck again by how strong she looked even in her quietest moments.
That's when the frost came.
It swept in fast — turning dew to ice and air to glass.
Kael drew his sword instinctively. Ariya froze, flame sparking in her palms.
And then—
A figure stepped out of the mist.
Not Ruvan himself. But something of him.
A shade. A construct. Like the ones that attacked before — but this one… was her.
Not just her face.Her voice. Her fire. Her pain.
It mimicked her perfectly — twisted by frost, its flame burning blue-white.
"You cannot escape him," it whispered. "He is already inside you. You were marked from birth."
"Get. Out," Ariya growled, her real fire blazing gold.
Kael stepped in front of her, but she raised a hand — stopping him.
"No. This is my shadow."
She hurled fire at the construct — again and again. But it kept reforming, laughing with her own voice.
"He sees your thoughts," it mocked. "He knows how you doubt yourself. You can't hide. Not from him."
Then it whispered something only Ariya could hear.
And her flames… went cold.
Kael saw it. Saw her expression crumple.Saw the anger twist into something sharper.
Rage.
Ariya let out a scream, and this time when her fire burst forward — it wasn't controlled.
It was wildfire.It devoured the construct.Turned it to ash in seconds.
And yet she didn't stop.
She kept burning the ground, the air, the trees, until Kael grabbed her — arms around her from behind.
"Ariya, it's gone. It's gone."
Her breathing was ragged. Her eyes wide.
"He said…" she choked, "he said my mother died because of me."
Kael froze.
That wasn't a taunt.That was a wound.
And it was real.
"I hate him," Ariya whispered, her voice trembling. "I hate him."
Later, when the fire cooled and the sky turned navy, Kael sat beside her on a fallen log. She hadn't said much since.
But she was leaning against him. And that was enough.
He didn't speak, didn't offer words that would feel empty. He just rested a hand on hers.
Let her know she wasn't alone.
And in the silence, he made himself a quiet vow.
Whatever Ruvan does next… he'll have to go through me first.
Far away…Ruvan stood in a mirror chamber, frost creeping along the floor.
He had seen the whole thing.He had pushed that memory into the construct himself.
"Let her hate me," he murmured. "Hatred ties tighter than love.Let her feel fire… and someday, I'll offer her ice."
But deep down, something unexpected stirred — not pride…
…but jealousy.
Because in that clearing, she hadn't called his name.She had leaned on Kael.