"Run, Seraphina! Take the boy and run!" High Lord Kael's voice thundered over the roaring flames as the sky bled crimson.The winds howled like demons. Smoke thick as betrayal clawed at the fortress walls. The Citadel of Embers, proud and defiant for centuries, was collapsing—stone by stone, oath by oath.Lady Seraphina Drakar stumbled through the corridor, her emerald cloak now singed and clinging to her blood-splattered armor. Cradled in her arms was an infant wrapped in golden linen, barely old enough to cry. But he wasn't crying. No, Rayden Drakar, last seed of the fireborn bloodline, was deathly silent. Too still."Hold on, my love," she whispered, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead. "You are not dying today. You are prophecy. You are vengeance wrapped in the skin of innocence."The Night of Scorching Winds had come without warning. The betrayal had come from within. Their trusted allies, the Council of Flame, had turned, sold their loyalty for whispers of power from the E

"You don't look like much. Then again, neither does a spark—until it sets the whole world on fire."Rey adjusted the straps on his worn-out pack, sweat trailing down his back as he stared up at the looming gates of the Academy of the Seven Towers. The stone glistened with ancient runes, and banners flapped in the wind—each one representing an elemental house: Flame, Frost, Storm, Stone, Shadow, Light, and Tide.He belonged here.Somehow, impossibly, he belonged here.“Go on,” Juno said beside him, clapping a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Before they shut the gates. And Rey…”Rey turned.“Watch the flames inside you. Don’t let them burn faster than your heart can hold.”With a nod and a deep breath, Rey stepped into the courtyard and into a world that would either forge him—or break him.The academy was vast, alive with students of every shape, color, and class. Nobles with embroidered uniforms glared at street-born initiates. Professors walked like gods among mortals, their eyes traili

"You think you’ve been chosen, Rey Soren? Chosen ones don’t get to live happy lives. They bleed until the stars decide they’ve had enough."Elira Moonveil’s words burned deeper than any fire. They weren’t loud—but they echoed in his bones, like thunder wrapped in silk.Rey knelt in the Tower of Echoes, the Oracle’s chamber deep beneath the Academy. The room smelled of incense, dust, and something older—something that didn’t belong to this world. Candlelight danced across ancient runes carved into the obsidian walls. Elira stood in the center, barefoot on the sigil circle, her silver hair catching the flames like starlight. Her eyes weren’t mortal. They were voids rimmed with violet fire."I’ve waited fifteen years to look you in the eye," she whispered.Rey’s voice caught. “You know me?”“I’ve seen you. In dreams. In smoke. In the shattered mirrors of time.”She stepped closer, gaze piercing.“You’re Rayden Drakar. The Flame Reborn. The boy who could save us… or burn us all.”Rey flin

"You're hiding something, Rey Soren. And ice doesn’t lie. It preserves what fire tries to erase."Aeris Dawnvale’s breath shimmered in the cold air of the Lunar Chamber. Before her, the frost mirror pulsed with ethereal energy, fragments of Rey’s battle in the arena playing in broken loops. Flames licking around his silhouette. Rage in his eyes. The unmistakable signature of ancient power.She narrowed her eyes, drawing her fur-lined cloak tighter.She would find the truth. Even if it meant shattering Rey’s carefully woven mask.The Academy of the Seven Towers was quiet after dusk, though shadows moved between pillars like whispers searching for secrets.Rey sat on the eastern balcony, the burn scars on his knuckles faintly glowing beneath moonlight. Zayne leaned against the railing beside him, tossing a small knife from hand to hand."You nearly tore Kade in half. Everyone’s still talking about it."Rey didn’t answer.Zayne frowned. "I’m not afraid of you. You know that, right?""May

The wind screamed across the obsidian cliffs of Frosthold Ridge, biting into exposed skin like icy teeth. Snow spiraled from the mountains, swallowing the trail behind them. Rey adjusted the cloak around Lyra’s shoulders as they crouched behind a frozen outcrop, the enemy patrol fading into the misty ravine below.“You alright?” he whispered.Lyra nodded, but her face was pale. “I’m fine,” she lied.He could see the gash on her arm—the one she refused to let him tend to. Stubborn. Proud. But bleeding all the same.“We need to find shelter,” he said, not waiting for agreement.A few hundred meters up the ridge, they found it: a shallow cave framed by jagged stone and thick snowdrifts. The inside was narrow, cold, and reeked of damp earth, but it was safe. Rey ignited a small flame between his palms to warm the air. The fire didn’t roar—it pulsed gently, flickering in tune with his heartbeat.He looked up.Lyra was staring at the flame. But she wasn’t afraid anymore.“Your power,” she m