The brand in the Ember Witch's hand glowed brighter than the sun.
Ava felt her pulse shudder as flames licked the air, casting flickering shadows across the cold marble. Her knees dug into the ground where the chains kept her bound, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the sight in front of her—
Lily.Her daughter.Taking one hesitant step closer to the fire.
"No," Ava breathed. "Lily, don't. You're not hers. You're mine."
The Ember Witch's voice curled around the room like smoke.
"She was never yours. She was forged from power you cannot understand. She was always meant to be mine."
Lily's eyes shimmered with violet light. Her body trembled, torn between two forces: the woman who birthed her, and the darkness that had cradled her in Ava's absence.
The First Spark
Ava's heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Images flickered in her mind—Lily giggling with peanut butter smeared on her face, learning how to braid her hair, singing off-key lullabies. Her life. Their life.
With a sudden cry, Ava wrenched her wrists against the burning chains. Blood trickled down her arms, but she didn't stop.
"I won't lose you!" she screamed.
A pulse exploded from her chest—golden and wild. The chains shattered like glass.
Ava rose to her feet, golden flames coiling around her arms, her hair lifted by a sudden, unseen wind. The air rippled, reacting to the ancient magic stirring inside her.
The Ember Witch stepped back, just barely. Her smirk faltered.
"You've awakened," she murmured.
Ava's voice cut through the fire. "You made a mistake the moment you touched my daughter."
A Mother's Wrath
She raised her hand.
Flames obeyed.
They roared up the walls, curling around the statues, peeling away the cursed illusions. The false Damian and Lily flickered like mirages—and then vanished, revealing their true forms underneath.
Damian lay chained at the altar—his face bruised, eyes flickering open in shock. "Ava…?"
The real Lily was just beyond him, her small body trembling, caught in a circle of runes. Her skin glowed faintly blue, as though frozen from within.
"No," Ava whispered.
She sprinted forward—but before she could reach Lily, the runes erupted, forming a barrier of frost and shadow. A scream echoed from within.
Lily's.
The Witch's Bargain
The Ember Witch floated above them now, her eyes burning white.
"You can have one of them back, Ava. But only one."
Ava froze.
"What…?"
"One child," the witch purred. "One love. You may free your daughter—or save the man who still clings to your heart."
Behind Ava, Damian groaned, barely conscious.
Ahead, Lily whimpered, her breath frosting in the air.
"Choose," the Ember Witch whispered."And lose the other forever."
Ava stepped forward, heart torn in two.
Then, her golden fire dimmed.
Because the voice that came from Lily's mouth…
Wasn't Lily's at all.
"I know who you really are, Ava Hart," it said, cruel and ancient."You're the one who gave me life."