Elara and Kael moved through the dense underbrush, the twisted roots of ancient trees snagging at their boots. The air was cooler here, the scent of damp earth and aged bark filling their lungs, a stark contrast to the heat of the cavern they had just escaped.
Elara's pulse still thrummed with the lingering echoes of her awakening. She could feel the fire in her blood, not just a power, but a presence — something that whispered in her mind, urging her forward.
Kael's sharp gaze flicked from shadow to shadow, his fingers never far from the hilt of his blade. Despite his silence, Elara could sense his unease, the same tension that had simmered between them since the flames had answered her call.
They broke into a small clearing, the moonlight cutting through the branches above, casting soft, silver patches on the forest floor. Elara paused, her eyes drawn to a circle of ancient stones at the clearing's center, each one etched with symbols she instinctively understood but had never been taught.
"This place..." she murmured, stepping closer. Her fingers traced the cool, weathered surface of one of the stones, her touch sparking a faint, golden glow that pulsed in time with her heartbeat.
Kael's eyes narrowed, his hand tightening on his blade. "What is this?"
"It's a memory," Elara whispered, her voice catching as images flickered through her mind. She saw figures in flowing robes, their faces hidden beneath hoods, hands raised as if in prayer. She felt the ground beneath them shudder, the air crackle with unspoken words and unbreakable oaths.
She stumbled back, breathless, her fingers tingling. The stone pulsed once more, then fell silent.
Kael stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "What did you see?"
Elara met his gaze, the words catching in her throat. She wanted to say it — to tell him about the echoes, the fragments of forgotten lives that had woven themselves into her very soul — but something held her back.
"Not yet," she whispered, turning away from the stones. "We have to keep moving."
Kael hesitated, his eyes lingering on the stones for a moment before he fell in step beside her. As they disappeared into the shadows once more, the stones pulsed faintly behind them, the echoes of ancient promises whispering into the night.