chapter 39: Echoes of Betrayal

Ignis flickered through the sky, his ember-like form shifting and twisting with urgency. His prince had refused the truth, but Ignis knew better.

Ember was gone, and now Michael had been cast out, leaving the villa abandoned.

She had left before her flames had weakened, which meant one thing—she had gone searching.

For something.

For someone.

Ignis couldn’t appear before her directly. Not while her magic was drained.

But he could track her, piece together the path she had taken before the trail went cold.

He streaked toward the edges of the kingdom, hovering near the worn paths leading into the Forbidden Forest, the scent of burned air lingering in the distance.

The faint remnants of Ember’s fire still clung to the trees, telling him she had passed through.

Had she gone alone?

Ignis searched deeper, weaving through the branches and ancient roots, his energy pulling toward a force in the distance—something old, something unnatural.

Then, a flicker.

A presence.

Ember had been here.

But she wasn’t alone.

Ignis tensed. Someone had gone with her.

And whatever lay ahead, she was running out of time.

Ignis hovered within the shadows, his ember-like form dimming slightly as he listened, unseen by the cloaked figures encircling Ember and Callen.

Their voices were low, murmured, woven into the unnatural hum of the forest’s magic.

“She is weakening,” one rasped, their gaze locked onto Ember. “The fireborn cannot wield her power here—not as she once did.”

Another chuckled, a sound that sent icy tension crawling down Ignis’s spine.

“She will be easy to break.”

Ember’s jaw tightened, her fists curled at her sides. Callen shifted beside her, his muscles coiled, ready for a fight.

Break her?

Ignis burned hotter.

The figures continued, speaking as though Ember had already lost.

“Her flames are fading, and soon, she will be nothing but ash.”

That was enough.

Ignis shot forward, his embers igniting in a sudden, blinding flare. He swept through the clearing, striking the cloaked figures with bursts of burning energy, sending them crashing to the ground, unconscious before they could react.

The forest trembled, startled by the force of his attack.

Ember stumbled back, shock flashing across her face.

“Ignis?” she breathed.

He didn’t have much time.

“I know what’s happening to your fire,” Ignis said quickly, his embers flickering erratically. “You gave a part of it to the forest. It will return—but only if you reclaim it.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “How?”

“The forest took what you offered, but it can be undone,” Ignis explained. “You must go back to where you made the exchange. Take back what was yours.”

Her breath hitched—but before she could respond, Ignis’s form flickered, his strength draining.

And yet, he wasn’t finished.

“There’s more,” he murmured, his glow fading. “Michael—he was cast out.”

Ember froze, her pulse hammering.

“What?”

“Elara lied to Liam. She told him Michael was your fiancé, that you—” Ignis hesitated, barely able to hold himself together. “That you were with him all night.”

Callen cursed, anger flashing through his features.

Ember felt her chest tighten, fury and disbelief crashing into her at once.

Liam believed that?

Elara had manipulated everything.

Ignis flickered weakly, his energy slipping away. “I had to warn you.”

Ember reached out, but before her fingers could touch the fading embers—

Ignis disappeared.

Gone, pulled back into Liam’s mind before he could say another word.

Ember’s hands curled into fists, her flames struggling to rise.

She had been betrayed.

And now, she had a choice to make.

Ember sat on the ground, silent tears slipping down her cheeks, her chest tightening with the weight of everything—betrayal, loss, urgency.

Callen stood nearby, watching her with quiet understanding. After a moment, he spoke.

“Ember?” His voice was gentle. “What do we do now?”

Ember looked up at him, her vision blurred, but her heart steadied slightly at his presence. He had chosen to stand by her.

“I have to go back,” she whispered.

Callen furrowed his brows. “Back? To the kingdom?”

She nodded, swallowing thickly. “Michael—my father. My adoptive father—he was thrown out of the villa. He is weak, fragile. Callen, he could die.”

Her voice cracked, grief and frustration mixing into a storm inside her.

Callen reached down, pulling her gently to her feet. “Should we try to get your powers back first?”

Ember shook her head, determination sharpening her features. “That will take too long. I don’t need them right now. Liam will listen to me. He has to.”

But even as she said it, doubt twisted inside her.

Liam had believed the lie.

Had cast Michael out without question.

Had let Elara manipulate his emotions.

She felt her heart breaking, the weight of her secret pressing down on her.

Liam was meant for her.

She had known it from the moment she met him—but she had never told him.

And now, as she faced the truth, she wondered…

Was it too late?

--

Liam sat alone in his chamber, his fingers curling tightly around the goblet of untouched wine resting on the table before him.

The storm inside him had not faded—it had only settled into something heavier. Something colder.

Elara’s words echoed in his mind, taunting him with a truth he wasn’t sure he wanted to accept.

Raven had moved on.

She was with someone else.

And yet…

Why did it feel wrong?

He could still see the image of the man—the one Ignis had reported. An older figure, frail, sick.

That wasn’t the man Elara had described.

Not some passionate lover.

Not some secret fiancé.

A flicker of doubt stirred within him, but he shoved it away.

Ignis had challenged him, had questioned his judgment. Had accused him of being blind.

And Liam hated that it might be true.

But pride was a stubborn thing.

And pride had already made his decision.

He closed his eyes for just a moment, exhaling slowly.

If Raven had truly left him behind… why did it still hurt?

Liam closed his eyes, exhaling slowly as he tried to push the thoughts from his mind.

Raven.

Her name still echoed through his consciousness, twisting through his thoughts despite his efforts to bury it.

If she had chosen another—then so be it.

His hands curled into fists for a brief moment before he forced himself to release the tension.

He had a duty. A future already written.

And he would accept his fate.

Even if the ghost of her name still lingered in the silence.