Embers in the Dark

Anne flexed her fingers, testing the weight of the iron shackles. The moment they touched her skin, they burned—not with heat, but with magic. The old kind. The kind that didn't just restrain but suppressed.

She clenched her jaw against the pain, forcing herself to breathe through it. Her fire was there—buried, caged, just like her—but she could still feel it, flickering weakly beneath the surface.

She had to break free.

Lucian still hadn't moved.

A deep unease twisted inside her as she watched his shallow breathing. The hunters had done something to him—more than just the darts. His wrists were bound with silver-lined chains, searing into his skin.

They weren't just keeping him chained.

They were weakening him.

Anne swallowed back the urge to shout his name, to wake him, to make sure he was still in there. But if the hunters thought he was still unconscious, that worked to their advantage.

She glanced toward the guards.

There were two of them now, standing at the far end of the stone chamber. One leaned lazily against a wooden post, a blade strapped to his waist, while the other fiddled with a silver crossbow. Their postures were relaxed, but their weapons were never far from reach.

Anne kept her breathing steady. She needed to be smart. No reckless lunging. No desperate attempts to break enchanted chains.

She had to outthink them.

Then, as if fate had tilted in her favor, an argument broke out.

A third hunter stormed into the chamber, his voice sharp. "We're wasting time! She should be dead already!"

The guard with the crossbow scoffed. "Not our call. The Commander wants her alive."

The newcomer sneered. "Alive for what? To study? To keep as a pet?" He turned toward Anne's cage, eyes burning with hatred. "You don't cage a beast. You kill it."

Anne met his gaze. Didn't flinch. Didn't look away.

The man took a step closer.

A mistake.

Anne shifted slightly, testing her range. Her movements were small, calculated. Not yet.

The hunter grabbed the bars, his lip curling. "I've seen what monsters like you can do. And I'm going to make sure—"

Anne moved.

She shot forward, fast, slamming her shackles against the bars. Sparks flared from the runes, and pain ripped through her limbs, but she ignored it. The jolt of magic sent a ripple through the air, just enough to make the hunter flinch.

And that hesitation was all she needed.

With precise, predatory grace, she lunged her arm through the bars and snatched his belt dagger.

Before he could react, she pulled.

The blade came free—along with a key.

The hunter's eyes widened in shock.

Anne didn't wait. She spun the blade in her fingers, shifting her grip just as the two guards rushed toward her. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she sent the dagger flying—

Not at the guards.

At Lucian's chains.

The blade struck true, cutting through the weakened metal. The moment the restraint broke, Lucian's head snapped up.

And his eyes—once dazed, once dull—burned with cold, feral fury.

The hunters froze.

Anne grinned. "Wake up, Lucian."

The guards moved—too late.

Lucian tore the chains from the wall, silver snapping like twigs beneath his grip. His body was still weak, but his speed wasn't. He was on them in an instant, his hands moving like a blur.

A crunch. A scream.

One guard hit the ground, unconscious before he even knew what happened.

The other fumbled for his weapon. Lucian grabbed his wrist and twisted. A sharp snap echoed through the chamber, and the man crumpled, groaning in pain.

Anne didn't waste time.

She grabbed the key she had stolen and jammed it into the lock on her cuffs. The first shackle clicked open. Then the second.

The moment her wrists were free, she felt it.

The fire.

It surged back to life, roaring in her veins, flooding through her like an untamed inferno. Her breath hitched at the sensation—at the sheer power of it.

The suppression runes were still on the cage bars, but it didn't matter.

Because she wasn't staying inside.

Lucian stepped beside her, wiping blood from his knuckles. His gaze met hers—silent, unreadable—but there was something fierce in the way he looked at her.

Something like approval.

Anne smirked. "Time to leave."

Lucian tilted his head, glancing at the remaining conscious hunter—the one who had called her a beast. The man was scrambling backward, reaching for his fallen crossbow.

Lucian sighed. "You always leave a mess."

Anne stepped forward, heat radiating from her palms.

The hunter went still, eyes darting between them. "You—You won't make it out." His voice shook. "The entire fortress will be on you before you—"

Anne raised her hand.

A small flicker of fire danced at her fingertips, casting golden light over her smirk.

"Then we better hurry."

And with a snap of her fingers—

The flames ignited.