Chapter 36: The Blood Price
Ember stared at the flames, their blue hue flickering like a silent promise. The truth had shattered everything she thought she knew—King Alex was her father. And he wanted her dead.
Michael’s presence grounded her, but her mind spun with possibilities. If Alex knew she was alive, he would stop at nothing to hunt her down.
Michael watched her carefully. “You need a plan, Ember.”
She swallowed hard. “Then help me make one.”
Michael exhaled. “We need to leave. Your magic is growing, but you’re not ready to face him yet.”
Ember clenched her fists. “I won’t run.”
Michael frowned but didn’t argue. “Then we need allies. People who will fight for you, not against you.”
Her thoughts immediately went to Eira.
The Frostborn.
Her sister.
Michael hesitated before speaking again. “There’s something else you must know. Melanie doesn’t know you exist.”
Ember’s breath caught. “What?”
Michael nodded solemnly. “She was only ever told about Eira and Callen. Alex erased you from history before she ever had the chance to know you.”
Ember’s chest tightened, a strange mixture of anger and sorrow twisting inside her.
Her own mother—the woman who had passed down her power, her legacy—didn’t even know she had another daughter.
And yet, something inside her burned with certainty.
She would find Melanie.
She would make Alex pay.
She has made up her mind that she will go to her mother.
--
Ember kept to the shadows, her hood drawn low as she approached the towering gates of the palace. She had waited long enough.
Her mother was here—trapped, hidden from the world—and she wouldn’t stop until she found her.
Slipping past the outer walls, she moved swiftly through the corridors, relying on what Michael had told her about the palace’s hidden passages. Every footstep was calculated, every breath controlled.
Then—a sharp voice behind her.
“Who are you?”
Ember froze, fingers instinctively curling around the dagger at her waist before slowly turning.
Callen stood before her.
His dark eyes flickered with suspicion as he studied her, his grip firm on the hilt of his own sword. “I’ve seen you before… Haven’t I?”
Ember knew she had seconds to decide—run or tell the truth.
She straightened, letting the hood slide back. “You already know who I am.”
Callen’s expression shifted. Something unspoken passed between them.
“The fireborn,” he murmured.
Ember didn’t flinch. “Yes.”
Silence stretched between them, thick with questions, revelations, and decisions.
Callen exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck as if the weight of everything suddenly made sense.
Then he spoke. “There’s something you need to know.”
Callen exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face as if trying to gather the right words.
“The kingdom isn’t what it used to be,” he admitted, his voice quieter now, as if finally unraveling the truth he had kept hidden for far too long.
Ember watched him carefully, sensing the weight of his hesitation.
“Since Eira disappeared, Father has been… unstable,” Callen continued. “More cruel than before. He’s doubled the guards, searching for her in secret while trying to maintain the illusion of control.”
Ember felt a chill creep through her veins.
King Alex wasn’t just fighting against fate. He was afraid.
Callen shifted, his jaw tightening. “Melanie—she’s weaker every day. He’s keeping her alive, but just barely. Every time she tries to use her magic, the poison spreads through her body.”
Ember’s fists clenched.
He was slowly killing her while ensuring she never truly died.
“She has no allies inside the palace. No one dares to help her. But I—I’ve been sneaking her medicine,” Callen confessed. “I bring her food, make sure the guards don’t mistreat her. It’s not enough, but it’s all I can do.”
Ember softened slightly. “It’s more than she’s had in years.”
Callen nodded, swallowing hard. “I need to do more. That’s why I agreed to help her escape. That’s why I want you to help me.”
Ember held his gaze, seeing something in his eyes she hadn’t expected—guilt. Redemption. A desperate need to prove he wasn’t just another pawn in their father’s twisted game.
“We’re going to save her,” Ember promised, fire flickering at her fingertips. “And we’re going to end this.”
Callen met her resolve with his own.
No hesitation. No doubt.
“I’m with you.”
--
The moon hung high above the palace walls as Ember and Callen slipped through the narrow passage beneath the old stone archway. Every step was calculated, every breath controlled.
The Forbidden Forest loomed ahead—a place thick with old magic, lost whispers, and dangers unseen.
Callen adjusted the satchel at his hip, his voice hushed. “Bloodshade Blossoms only bloom under the full moon. We need to find them before sunrise.”
Ember nodded, her blue flames flickering at her fingertips before she smothered them. No light. No noise.
Stealth was their greatest weapon.
As they moved deeper, the air shifted. Thickened. Stilled.
The trees curled like skeletal fingers, their bark scarred from centuries of battles fought and forgotten.
Then—a sound.
A faint rustling, just beyond the clearing.
Callen froze, reaching for his dagger. Ember tensed, her heart pounding.
They were not alone.
Chapter 59: The Watchers in the Dark
Callen tightened his grip on his dagger, his gaze darting through the dense forest. The rustling had stopped—but the feeling remained.
They were being watched.
Ember felt it too. Her flames flickered at her fingertips, a subconscious reaction to the tension tightening in her chest.
Then—movement.
A figure emerged from the shadows, draped in dark, tattered robes, their face obscured by a heavy hood.
Ember took a step forward, ready for a fight. “Who are you?”
The figure tilted their head slightly. “The fireborn,” they murmured, their voice low and knowing. “You have finally come.”
Ember’s breath hitched.
Callen moved beside her, his stance guarded. “What do you want?”
The stranger chuckled, the sound unsettling against the eerie silence of the forest. “It is not what we want—it is what you seek.”
They gestured toward the clearing behind them.
Ember followed their movement, her gaze landing on a field of glowing crimson blossoms—Bloodshade Blossoms, blooming beneath the full moon.
Her pulse quickened.
She had found them.
But as she took a step toward the flowers, the figure raised a hand.
“Be warned, fireborn,” they whispered. “Blood must be spilled before they can be taken.”