Nyra
I didn't sleep.
Couldn't.
The warmth of the fire did nothing to touch the cold threaded through my veins, a remnant of the ice magic still lingering like phantom shackles. I sat curled in the corner, blanket forgotten, eyes fixed on the shadows flickering across the stone walls.
Kael's words kept circling in my head like vultures.
"I think I've chosen the only one who still has the strength to burn the old world down…"
Fool.
I wasn't here to build anything new. I was here to tear down the lies that had cost me everything.
The soft knock came again, just before dawn. Not Kael this time, someone lighter, hesitant.
"Go away," I muttered, but the door creaked open anyway.
It was a girl.
No older than me, maybe younger. Dressed in servant's garb, but her posture didn't carry the usual deference. Her eyes were sharp, sea-glass green and assessing.
"I'm not here to clean," she said. "I came to see if the rumors were true."
I raised an eyebrow. "And which rumors would those be?"
She stepped inside, glancing at the lock as the door shut behind her. "That the fire witch of Ignara lives. That she's Kael's bride. That she walked into the jaws of Glacium and didn't flinch."
Witch. That old name again.
"Do I look like a bride to you?" I asked, lifting my wrists. The faint red bruises from the shackles were still visible.
Her lips twitched. "Depends on the marriage, I suppose."
I couldn't help the small huff of air that passed as laughter. "What do you want?"
"I'm not your enemy," she said. "My name's Elira. I serve in the House of Ice, but I don't swear my heart to them."
"And what, your heart is for rent?"
"No," she said, voice dropping. "It's for revolution."
I looked up at her then, sharp and searching. "You're Resistance."
"Not all of us believe the Council's version of history," she said. "Some of us remember what really happened to Ignara. Some of us want to see the truth rise."
I stood slowly, wary. "Why tell me this?"
"Because we need a spark," she said simply. "And you're it."
The flames inside me stirred.
Before I could answer, a horn sounded beyond the walls, low, urgent. Elira stiffened.
"They're coming," she said quickly. "The Council. Kael's trying to delay them, but they want you on display. They'll parade you like a conquered beast to prove Glacium's power."
"Let them try," I said, stepping toward the fire. I reached into the flame and let it bite into my skin, let it curl around my fingers and dance in my palm.
The ice inside me cracked.
And the embers roared.
Later
They dressed me in Glacium white.
Silken, regal, threaded with pale silver. A gown meant to tame me. To make me look harmless.
I wore it like armor.
Kael waited in the courtyard as they brought me out, flanked by half a dozen guards. His jaw clenched when he saw the dress. He hadn't chosen it. That much was clear.
"Nyra...."
"Save it," I said. "Let's get this over with."
The main hall of the outpost had been transformed into a court chamber, its icy pillars and silver banners a stark contrast to the seething tension in the air. Nobles and councilors gathered in rows, eyes gleaming with curiosity, suspicion, and hunger.
I didn't bow.
Kael stood beside me, his expression unreadable. But I felt the flicker of heat in him again, the part of him that still remembered, still hoped.
The High Council sat at the front like frozen kings.
The eldest, a man named Thalor, rose. His voice carried like a whip through the hall.
"Nyra of the fallen kingdom of Ignara," he said, drawing out each word like it was a noose. "You stand accused of high treason. Of consorting with rebel forces. Of wielding forbidden elemental fire beyond your control and razing your own capital to the ground."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"You burned your kingdom," he continued. "And now, you come to Glacium as a threat cloaked in the illusion of peace. A cursed flame, resurrected from ash."
I smiled thinly. "And here I thought you brought me here for a wedding."
Snickers broke out. The guards beside me stiffened.
"And most damning of all," Thalor added, "you carry the bloodline of a monarchy corrupted by divine flame. The very fire the ancients sealed away for a reason."
I raised my chin. "Is that all?"
Thalor's smile sharpened. "Then perhaps you require… persuasion."
He motioned.
And they brought her in.
Bound, gagged, bruised.
Ava.
The world stopped.
"A reminder," Thalor said silkily, "that even fire can freeze, when faced with enough pain."
The fire in me screamed. Roared. Broke free of its cage.
They shouldn't have touched her.
They shouldn't have touched her.
I moved before I thought.
Before I could weigh the consequences or measure the odds. My body acted for me, no, the fire acted for me.
One heartbeat I stood still. The next, I was flame.
A torrent of heat surged from my chest, invisible at first, then pulsing like the beat of a second heart. The silken gown twisted in the heat, windless yet rippling as if a storm had found its way inside me. The guards flanking me stepped back. Not out of duty.
Out of fear.
"Ava," I choked, my voice warped and edged with heat. "Let her go."
Thalor smiled again. "You forget your position."
Wrong move.
The ice binding Ava's wrists cracked audibly before I even reached for it. Flames licked up my arms, glowing gold-orange, wrapping my body like living armor. The cold in the chamber recoiled. The air itself seemed to bend around me, drawing tight and brittle.
"Release her," I said again, louder.
Thalor stepped forward, motioning to a nearby magus. The man raised his hand, and a burst of glacial wind shot toward me.
Too slow.
I raised my palm, and the fire surged.
It wasn't elegant. It wasn't controlled. It was wrath.
The ice blast shattered midair, sent flying back toward the ceiling in a spray of snow and steam. Cracks spiderwebbed across the icy pillars. People screamed. The court exploded into motion, guards charging, councillors scattering.
Kael didn't move.
He watched me, eyes wide, storm-gray and stunned like he was seeing me for the first time.
Ava.
I ran to her, flames retreating from my skin just long enough to grab her by the arms and melt her bindings. She collapsed into me with a muffled sob.
"I've got you," I whispered, pulling the gag free.
She stared at me like I was a dream. "Nyra... you came."
"I never stopped," I said fiercely. "Now hold on."
I turned, facing the chaos. Half the room was fleeing. The other half was coming for me.
Kael finally stepped forward, arm outstretched between me and the guards. "Stand down!" he shouted.
No one listened.
Then he looked at me.
And nodded.
It was the smallest motion, but it said everything.
Do it.
I raised both hands, fire building in my core, thick and molten. The guards didn't stand a chance.
A wave of flame spiralled outward not lethal, not yet, but scorching, biting, warning. Armor burned. Spears clattered to the stone floor. The ice beneath our feet began to melt.
This wasn't just defiance.
It was declaration.
The Fire Kingdom lived.
Kael's voice boomed across the chaos. "Enough!"
It worked. Barely.
The guards hesitated. Councilors cowered. Thalor's smugness had evaporated, replaced by cold, calculating rage.
"You've made your choice, Kael," he spat. "You protect her, you fall with her."
Kael glanced at me, then back at Thalor.
"So be it."