Nyra
The sound of pursuit was never far behind.
I could hear the crunch of boots on snow, the beat of hooves, always just at the edge of my awareness. The flame that lived inside me called to the fire in my blood, urging me forward, but I had learned long ago that running only delayed the inevitable. And with Kael hot on my trail, I knew the game had changed.
He had found me once more.
The wind picked up, sweeping through the narrow path ahead, and I adjusted my cloak, pulling the hood tighter around my face. There was no use in looking back. The road ahead was long and treacherous, and I needed to keep my mind sharp.
Every step was measured. Every breath calculated.
I hadn't expected him to come so soon. He always seemed to think he could outwit me, outlast me. But Kael was still the same, he saw the world in terms of strategy, black and white, clear and defined. He had never truly understood the fire that lived within me, the fire that burned through every bit of my being, molding me into someone else. A force of nature, not a pawn in his game.
I passed the remains of a shattered tree, its bark charred black from a fire long extinguished. A reminder of the destruction I had left in my wake, of the kingdoms I had burned, the bridges I had severed. A path of ashes, with only one person who might still hold a piece of the old me.
Kael.
I let my mind wander, but only for a moment. There were no distractions allowed now. I could feel the heat of the flame beneath my skin, impossible to ignore. It flickered, urging me to unleash it, to send a wave of destruction crashing down on everything in my path. But I wasn't foolish enough to let it control me.
I heard the distant sounds of movement a rustling in the trees, the faintest crunch of snow beneath hooves. They were close. Kael and his soldiers were relentless, but I knew the land better. I knew the paths that curved through the wilderness, the ways the snow disguised a trap. He would chase me, yes. He always did. But he would not catch me.
Not yet.
I pressed on, my footsteps light, barely disturbing the frosted ground beneath me. The frost nipped at my skin, but it didn't bother me. The fire inside me kept me warm. I had always been a creature of extremes fire and ice, light and shadow. Neither could exist without the other, and neither could I.
Still, I couldn't escape the feeling that something was shifting, something I couldn't quite grasp. A tug in the air, a current that seemed to bend around me.
A whisper of doubt.
I shook my head. I didn't have time for doubt.
It wasn't long before I saw the glimmer of light through the trees. A fire. Not just any fire, this one felt… familiar. My pulse quickened. I was close to something important, something I couldn't ignore.
I approached cautiously, slipping between the trunks of the trees, the warmth of the fire beckoning me closer. The shadows were deep here, and the air smelled of burning pine. A camp.
I froze at the edge of the clearing.
There, by the fire, sat a figure wrapped in a dark cloak. The hood was pulled low over their face, but the shape of the person was unmistakable.
Kael.
He was alone.
I couldn't make myself move. My instinct screamed at me to flee, to leave him behind, but something kept me rooted in place. This was unexpected. He wasn't supposed to be here. Not without his soldiers. Not in the middle of the night.
"What do you want, Kael?" I asked, my voice low but clear.
His head snapped up, his piercing gaze locking onto mine in an instant. The same eyes I had once loved. The same eyes that haunted me now.
"I could ask you the same thing," he said, his voice steady, though I could hear the slight tension beneath it.
I stepped forward slowly, not entirely trusting the situation. "You think you can catch me, don't you? That you can follow me to the ends of this earth and make me bend to your will."
He didn't answer immediately, but a flicker of something darker passed through his eyes. "I don't want to catch you, Nyra. I want to understand you."
I scoffed. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
He stood, brushing snow off his cloak. "You're running yourself ragged. Let me speak before you disappear again."
I folded my arms, watching him with narrowed eyes. "You've got five minutes."
He hesitated, then said, "The Council is desperate. They think marrying you to me will restore balance, tie flame and frost, seal the cracks between the realms."
"And you?" I asked bitterly. "Do you think that too?"
"I think," he said carefully, "that you don't belong out here alone. I think that the girl I once knew—who used to laugh before she learned to burn—is still in there."
"That girl is dead."
"She's not. She's standing in front of me right now, pretending the world didn't wound her."
The words stung more than I cared to admit. I opened my mouth to respond but a sudden crack in the underbrush made my head snap to the side.
Too late.
Figures emerged from the shadows, soldiers, armor glinting, swords drawn. A half-circle of steel closed around me before I could react.
I spun toward Kael, heart thundering. "You lied to me."
"No…Nyra, I didn't know they were this close…."
"You lured me here," I spat. "You always knew how to play the board."
His eyes widened with something like panic. "I swear to you, I came alone. I told them not to follow…."
But I wasn't listening.
The fire roared to life in my veins, searing through my chest and down my arms. The soldiers hesitated, but Kael stepped forward, hands raised.
"Don't," he said quietly. "Don't make this worse. Please."
A dozen blades were pointed at me. My back was to the fire, my pride hanging by threads.
I could burn them all. I knew it. But something in his voice,something raw and broken, stopped me.
They moved in, chains ready.
And I didn't fight.
Not because I believed him.
But because I would never give him the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart.
Not here.
Not yet.