Chapter Twenty: Flames of HeritageI. The Last Ordinary DayThe courtyard pulsed with life — laughter and clamor echoing in the stone recesses, steel ringing as students sparred, feet drumming over trampled grass. But for Elior, each sound was a distant echo beneath the press of something unspeakable, restless within his skin. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the ache of sleepless nights—his body foreign, electric with secrets clawing to be free.Olivia leaned against a crooked pillar, concern lining his face. “Don’t push yourself, Elior. You’re still—”But Elior only nodded, jaw tight, eyes brimming with defiance and fatigue.He stepped into the training circle, blind to the side glances, to the way instructors and peers turned nervous at the edges.II. The UnravelingThe duel played out in fragments of motion and memory. Blades blurred; sweat stung his eyes. Elior’s opponent—a favored upperclassman—moved with confidence, but Elior moved as if guided by a force older than muscle or f

. Silent ApproachNight at the academy pressed in like a living weight. The ancient stone walls, cold and rough, seemed to breathe beneath the hush, soaking up every scrap of light and laughter left behind by the day. Faint lamplight flickered along the halls, and everywhere, the silence felt thick—that special kind reserved for places where secrets gather and refuse to die.Through this hush moved Keal—silent, confident, burning from within with patient menace. His red eyes cut through darkness as though daring even the shadows to move or speak. Every step was measured, every breath in sync with the old building’s secret pulse. He looked less like a man than a caution in human skin, a warning fashioned from the kingdom’s deepest fears.Behind a plain door, tucked away near the healer’s wing, Liora sat by the glow of a single candle. Her hands, those of a born healer, trembled now—not with exhaustion, but with a war waged behind weary eyes. She exhaled softly, the sigh measured, as if

The Quiet Before the StormThe ceaseless rain drummed on the windowpane long after dawn crept over the academy towers, a slow symphony of water against stone. Inside Elior’s room, shadows crouched beneath the stirred blankets and twisted sheets—the remnants of a night wrestled with visions no human should bear.Olivia stepped quietly through the door, the faint creak of old wood barely audible over the rain’s steady tap. Immediately something unsettled him—a scent sharp with sweat and fear clung to the air. The bed was disheveled, soaked in the marks of restless torment. Clothes crumpled in damp heaps on the floor, heavy with the night’s heat and sorrow.His eyes caught the faint golden ember stains on the creaking floorboards, residues of a fire smoldering too close to the soul.Elior sat motionless on the edge of the bed, gaze fixed somewhere beyond reality, muscles taut beneath pale skin. His throat moved, swallowing memories no words could voice.Olivia’s vision narrowed, cutting

Chapter 25: Shadows at the DoorI. In Keal’s Office: The Trap TightensThe lamp glow in Keal’s office threw hard shadows on the stone walls, sharpening every cruel angle of his grin. He paced behind his massive desk, hands folded, shooting sidelong glances at Liora. The room itself seemed to pulse with anticipation—dark, grave, every surface and silence charged with a threat only Keal could relish.He leaned in close to Liora, his smirk widening. “A little more, my dear. Just a touch more and Elior won't be able to contain what’s inside him. Do you see it? The fire, the shadows—they’re clawing their way out. You’re pushing perfectly.” His voice was velvet over knives—smooth, but every word drew blood.Liora didn’t answer, couldn’t trust herself to speak. Her hands tightened at her sides, nails half-moons in her palms, stomach sick with guilt. She wished she could find anger, blame, anything besides this ache that crushed her with every one of his compliments.Keal’s voice was intoxica

Chapter 26: Thorns and FlamesPART I: Liora Begins to BreakThe dim light from the ancient crystal flickered softly in the corner of Liora’s chamber, its shimmer casting fractured shadows against the cold stone walls. She sat alone, fingertips trembling as they traced the smooth surface, watching Elior through the visions it revealed. His figure was distant but vivid—walking the academy grounds with the burden of his blazing powers visible in every tense step.Her breath hitched, chest tightening with guilt. The weight of all she had done pressed on her like a crushing tide. Memories surged—a flash of Elior’s trusting eyes when he confided in her, a soft smile that now felt like a wound tearing open. The fragile warmth of friendship, the sincerity she had betrayed.Her mind shattered further as her father’s face flickered before her—stoic, worn, but unmistakably alive. The image closed tight around her heart like a vice.Her hand hovered over the threshold spell resting on the intrica