The Aftermath

The morning after the battle felt like waking from a nightmare, but Anne knew it wasn't over. The charred remains of the forest stretched out before her, an eerie silence hanging in the air. The once-lush trees were now twisted, their skeletal limbs reaching skyward like desperate hands. Smoke still curled lazily from the remnants of the flames that had consumed everything in their path. It was a wasteland—her wasteland.

She had won, but the victory felt hollow.

Lucian's hand rested gently on her shoulder, a silent anchor amidst the devastation. He said nothing, but his presence was enough. He had been there when the fire had raged, helping her through the chaos, keeping her grounded when all she could do was burn. His unwavering trust in her had been the one thing that had kept her tethered to herself.

But even now, as the dust settled and the flames died, Anne couldn't shake the feeling that something darker was waiting for her. The power inside her wasn't a gift—it was a curse, a constant reminder that she was never truly safe. And Valtheris? She knew he would be back. No matter how many times she defeated him, he would always find a way to rise from the ashes.

The dragon inside her stirred, restless, like it could sense the coming storm. She had no control over it. Not fully. Not yet.

"We need to leave," she said, her voice steady but her heart heavy with unspoken fears. "This place is gone. I've burned it all."

Lucian didn't argue. He simply nodded, his eyes scanning the destruction. "Where will we go?"

Anne didn't know. She had no plan anymore. All her life, her mother had kept her hidden, kept her from the world. But now, the world was closing in on her, and she had nowhere to hide.

"We'll figure it out," she said, trying to convince herself as much as Lucian.

They walked in silence, the weight of everything that had happened between them settling in the quiet moments. The bond they shared—strained, tested by fire and blood—had been forged in the flames, but it was stronger than ever. She didn't know what the future held, but she knew one thing for certain: Lucian would be by her side.

For now, that was enough.

As they made their way through the ruins of the forest, Anne's mind wandered back to the moments before the battle. To the way Valtheris had taunted her, tried to push her into surrendering to the darkness. He hadn't just been after her power; he had wanted her to believe she was just like him, a force of destruction with no hope of redemption.

But she wasn't like him.

She couldn't be.

"Are you alright?" Lucian's voice brought her back to the present.

Anne turned to face him, her expression unreadable. "I don't know," she admitted. "I thought… I thought if I just controlled the power, I could stop all of this. But it's not that simple."

Lucian stepped closer, his eyes soft but intense. "You did control it, Anne. You faced it. And you didn't let it consume you."

"But what if next time, I can't?" Anne whispered, fear clawing at her throat. "What if I lose myself in it?"

"You won't," Lucian said firmly. "You're stronger than that. I've seen it. You're more than the dragon inside you. You're Anne. And that's who matters."

Anne swallowed the lump in her throat. His words were a balm, but they couldn't erase the truth that lingered beneath. The dragon inside her wasn't something that could be easily ignored. And as much as she wished she could bury it, she knew it would always be a part of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of footsteps crunching on the charred earth. A figure appeared from the smoke, silhouetted against the rising sun. Anne's heart skipped a beat.

It was Bela.

Anne's mother.

"Anne," Bela's voice was laced with something Anne couldn't quite place—concern, guilt, maybe even fear. "I knew you were here. I felt the disturbance." She looked around at the destruction, her eyes narrowing. "What have you done?"

Anne stood frozen, the weight of her mother's gaze heavy upon her. "I did what I had to do."

Bela didn't say anything at first, her expression unreadable. Then, her eyes flicked to Lucian, who stood beside Anne, his presence unspoken but undeniable.

"Lucian," Bela said, her tone neutral, "I should have known you'd be part of this." There was a sharpness in her voice, but also something else—something deeper, more layered.

Lucian didn't back down. He met Bela's gaze with equal intensity. "This isn't just about you, Bela. It's about Anne. She has a right to live her life, to make her own choices."

Bela's gaze shifted back to Anne, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of pride and regret. "You don't understand, Anne. You don't know what you're up against."

Anne felt the words like a blow to the chest. Her mother always had a way of making her feel small, insignificant. She had spent so long hiding the truth from Anne, keeping her in the dark about who she really was, and now she was trying to make it seem like Anne had made a mistake by doing what she did.

"I don't know what I'm up against?" Anne asked, her voice rising. "You've kept me in the dark my whole life, and now you think I don't know what's at stake?"

Bela's face tightened. "You've barely scratched the surface. There's so much more to this world, to the powers you hold, than you can understand."

"I don't need to understand it," Anne shot back. "I just need to survive it. And I will."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The air was thick with tension, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily between them. Lucian, ever the peacemaker, stepped forward, breaking the silence.

"Anne's right," he said softly. "She's not a weapon. She's not a tool to be used. She's a person, and she deserves a choice."

Bela's gaze flicked to him, cold and calculating. "And you think you can protect her from everything, Lucian?"

Lucian's expression hardened, but his voice remained steady. "I can protect her from you."

Anne's heart clenched. For the first time in her life, she realized just how much Lucian was willing to fight for her. He wasn't just standing by her; he was standing against everything that had ever tried to control her. Against her mother. Against the past.

Against everything.

Bela's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing more. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to Anne, a flicker of something—something Anne couldn't quite name—passing between them.

"Fine," Bela said softly. "You want to survive? Then survive. But remember this: You are not the only one who has enemies. You are not the only one who is being hunted."

The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, and for a moment, Anne could feel the weight of her mother's secrets pressing in on her.

Before she could respond, Bela turned and disappeared into the smoke, her silhouette vanishing as quickly as she had come.

Anne stood there, still reeling from the encounter. Lucian placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch grounding her.

"You're not alone in this," he said quietly.

Anne nodded, her heart still racing. "I know."

But as she stared into the distance, she couldn't shake the feeling that things were far from over. There was something coming. Something darker. And it was coming for her.