"It's starting," Isolde repeated, her voice taut with fury.
"What is it?" Lila asked, rising to her feet, shoulder throbbing.
"The power struggle," Isolde said. "The factions that stood against Elira, they're testing you. You just became a threat."
The guards moved to secure the garden. One took the fallen assassin, and another chased after the ones who fled.
Cassian stood quietly, tension radiating from him.
Later, in her chamber, Lila sat alone. Her shoulder was bandaged, and the firemark on her palm still tingled. She stared at her hands, remembering the way the flames had answered her—not wild or chaotic, but protective. Personal.
But it wasn't the fire that stirred now.
Something else was rising—cool and steady. Her palm didn't burn. It pulsed cold, like rain gathering in a stone basin.
She frowned and held her hand out. The faintest shimmer of blue light ran along her fingers before vanishing.
It wasn't just fire anymore. Something was changing again. Something is awakening.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Cassian stepped into the room, guided by a guard who waited silently outside. His face was calm, but his expression was serious.
"I wanted to thank you," he said. "For the garden. For saving me."
"You saved me, too," Lila said. "And I got us both nearly killed."
"Then we're even."
They stood there for a quiet moment.
Cassian stepped closer. "When you used your power… it didn't feel like Elira's. Hers was sharp. Cold. Yours is warmer. Wilder."
"I'm not her," Lila said. "But I don't think I was only meant to inherit her flame."
Cassian's head tilted. "If we're going to survive this, we need to know who sent those assassins."
"I agree," she said, straightening. "And I'm going to find them."
"You're serious."
"I'm not here to be a puppet heir. I'm here to fight."
Cassian nodded. "Then I'll fight with you. Blind or not."
She looked at him, something tightening in her chest. There was a bond forming between them now. Fragile. Real.
Fire and water. Ash and shadow.
Together, they just might survive.
End of Chapter 8