Kael's POV
Their blades met like old grudges. Tharein's sword was longer, sharper, practiced. But Kael had something his father would never understand—rage laced with purpose, fire-touched faith. The bond with Eira burned in his chest, pulsing like the sun inside his ribs.
The guards didn't join the duel. They knew better.
This was blood business.
Tharein moved with cold precision. No wasted breath. No anger. Just a chilling calculation, like Kael was one more failed piece to remove from the board.
Kael matched him step for step. Steel clanged and echoed into the frozen trees.
"You've grown weaker," Tharein sneered.
"No," Kael snarled. "You've mistaken warmth for weakness."
A furious exchange followed—Kael ducked, pivoted, his blade grazing Tharein's ribs. Blood bloomed on the older man's coat. He growled, countering with a backhanded swing. Kael staggered, stumbled, caught himself. Pain flared down his side.
Then—
A scream.
Kael turned.
Eira.
She collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest.
Her Mark glowed violently. The phoenix pendant around her neck pulsed like it was alive.
And then the fire came.
Eira's POV
She wasn't ready. The phoenix fire she'd taken in Dorvin's vault hadn't fully settled. It had waited—resting, coiled, lurking beneath her skin. Watching.
Until now.
Until she was scared enough.
Angry enough.
Alive enough.
It rose in her like a second soul—flames licking up her spine, through her veins, across her tongue.
The world became light.
Kael shouted something, but she couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything but the burn.
She stood on shaking legs, hands glowing white-gold, the ground beneath her feet turning to glass. She wasn't just channeling magic.
She was magic.
And Tharein turned to see her—too late.
She raised her arm.
And fire answered.
Kael's POV
He shielded his eyes as the flames erupted. The sky itself seemed to ignite. A wave of phoenix fire howled across the snow, incinerating the pine trees in a perfect circle around them.
Tharein tried to deflect it with frost magic, but it shattered on contact.
The fire passed through him.
And when it cleared—
He was on his knees.
Armor blackened. Sword melted. Face pale with shock.
Kael didn't move. He watched his father try to speak, try to stand—and fail.
Then he stepped forward.
"This ends with you," Kael said, sword leveled. "But not in death."
Tharein's lip curled. "Coward."
Kael shook his head. "No. I want you to live with what you tried to destroy."
He lowered the sword.
Turned.
And walked back to Eira.
Eira's POV
She fell into his arms.
Literally. Her legs gave out the moment he touched her.
But his arms caught her. Held her.
"Hey," he whispered, brushing hair from her face. "Still with me?"
She nodded faintly. "Did it work?"
He kissed her forehead. "You just rewrote the laws of nature. I think it worked."
Her chest burned. Her head spun. But in that moment, she had never felt more herself.
"I saw them," she whispered. "My parents. In the flame. They said we must go south. To the Emberlake."
Kael's eyes met hers. "The old seat of fire?"
She nodded.
"It's awakening."
Kael's POV
They rested at the base of the ridge, far from the ruins of the duel. Eira's body burned feverishly against his. Not dangerously—but with life.
He lay beside her, their cloaks wrapped together, one heartbeat echoing in two bodies.
She stirred. Looked up.
"I thought I'd lose you," she said.
He kissed her slow, deep, threading his fingers through her hair. "You'll never lose me. Not even to death."
She pressed against him, lips soft and insistent. "Then show me."
He didn't need to be told twice.
Their mouths met in fire and promise. His hands slid under her tunic, hers found the scar on his ribs. They moved slowly, not rushed—worshipping each other, not just wanting, but knowing.
Knowing this bond.
This story.
This love.