Adrian sat in the dim firelight, flexing his fingers. His hands no longer felt like his own. Every time he closed them, he swore he could feel the fire still there..hiding under his skin, waiting.The old man had said it would take time to control it. But Adrian didn’t have time.Kara nudged him with her boot. “You’ve been staring at your hands for an hour.”Adrian looked up. “I don’t want to lose control again.”Kara raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t lose control. You made fire. That’s the whole point.”Adrian sighed. “It didn’t feel like I was the one controlling it. It just… happened.”Kai, who had been sharpening his dagger nearby, spoke without looking up. “Maybe that’s the problem. You’re trying to control something that isn’t meant to be controlled.”Adrian frowned. “Then how do I use it?”Kai smirked. “You learn to move with it. Not against it.”Adrian wasn’t sure he liked that answer.The old man walked in, his footsteps light but deliberate. “It’s time.”Adrian stood. “For what

Adrian sat on a fallen log, staring at his hands. The flames had vanished, but the heat inside him wouldn’t leave. It pulsed under his skin, restless, alive.The others were quiet. Kara leaned against a tree, arms crossed. Kai cleaned his daggers, though his hands were stiff. Even the old man, who always seemed calm, studied him too closely.Adrian clenched his fists. “Why do I still feel it?”The old man exhaled, throwing dried leaves into the fire. The flames flickered blue. “Because it’s part of you now. The fire doesn’t sleep. It waits.”That didn’t make him feel better.Kara kicked a rock. “Next time, maybe warn us before setting the whole place on fire?”Adrian frowned. “I didn’t mean to..”Kai cut in. “You lost control. We saw it.”Adrian swallowed. He had felt it too. For a moment, he wasn’t fighting,he was something else. Something bigger.Something dangerous.The old man stirred the fire with his staff. The flames turned deep blue.“Your power is waking up, Adrian. But power