The Fire Within

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Fire Within

The battlefield was chaos.

Anne barely had time to react before Kaelar lunged. His speed was inhuman, his golden armor a blur as he struck. She barely dodged, rolling across the scorched earth, her breath ragged. He was strong—stronger than she had expected.

"You're not ready," Kaelar taunted, his sword gleaming in the dim light. "You're nothing but a child playing with fire."

Anne gritted her teeth, fire curling around her fingertips. "Then let's see if you can handle the heat."

She struck, flames bursting from her hands in a furious wave. Kaelar countered, a glowing blade slicing through her attack like it was nothing. His movements were precise, practiced. He wasn't just powerful—he was trained to fight something like her.

Anne staggered as his next blow sent her crashing into the dirt. Her vision blurred, but something inside her refused to stay down. Her blood pulsed, her heart pounding in her ears.

Then she felt it.

A presence. A whisper. Something ancient and waiting. It coiled inside her, restless, hungry.

Kaelar noticed the shift. "What are you—"

Anne didn't let him finish.

She moved before she could think, her body no longer entirely her own. Darkness rippled through her flames, a deeper power unfurling beneath her skin. She roared, and the very air trembled. Kaelar's confident stance wavered.

For the first time, he looked afraid.

Valtheris's Gambit

Valtheris stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching the chaos unfold. His lips curled into a smirk. The Celestial Dragons were here, right on schedule. Everything was going exactly as he had planned.

"Perfect," he murmured.

Lucian stood beside him, watching Anne, torn between running to her or staying where he was. His hands clenched into fists. "What are you playing at, Valtheris?"

Valtheris didn't even glance at him. "I'm merely letting nature take its course."

Lucian swallowed hard. The battle was spiraling out of control. Anne was changing. He could feel it in the air, in the unnatural energy crackling around her. This isn't her, he thought. Something's wrong.

And then Anne screamed.

A deafening explosion of black fire erupted from her, consuming everything in its path. Kaelar was thrown back, barely shielding himself in time. The Celestial Dragons recoiled, watching in horror as Anne rose from the flames, her form shifting, her eyes glowing with something far older than fire.

Lucian took a step forward—and stopped.

Anne turned to him, her gaze locking onto his. For the first time since he had met her, she looked truly other. Her fire wasn't hers anymore. It was something more.

Lucian knew what he had to do.

He took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Then he stepped away.

He chose himself.

Anne's expression shattered. It wasn't anger or hatred—it was pure, raw heartbreak. Her flames flickered, her body trembling. "Lucian…?"

But he had already turned.

Bela's Arrival

The moment Lucian walked away, Anne lost herself.

The ancient force within her surged forward, demanding to be set free. She let it. The fire expanded, turning blacker than the void, twisting like living shadows. Kaelar tried to rise, but the force crushed him back down.

And then, from the darkness, a voice rang out.

"Anne!"

The fire stopped. The air stilled. Anne turned, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.

Bela stood there, her golden eyes wide, her expression one of pure shock. "Anne, stop."

Anne's hands trembled, the black flames licking at her skin. "Mother?"

But Bela wasn't looking at her with relief. She was staring at her with horror.

Anne frowned—then caught sight of her reflection in the shattered earth. What she saw made her blood freeze.

Her wings—massive, scaled, shifting between fire and shadow. Her claws—longer, sharper. Her fangs—no longer just for drinking blood, but for tearing. She wasn't just a girl with dragon and vampire blood anymore.

She was something else entirely.

She was Dragire.

Anne stumbled back, her breath catching in her throat. "I—"

Bela reached for her, but Anne flinched away. And then, without thinking, without meaning to—

Anne lashed out.

A burst of black fire slammed into Bela, sending her hurtling backward. The battlefield fell silent as the flames cleared. Bela lay motionless, her clothes scorched, her body still.

Anne's heart stopped. "No… no, no, no—"

Bela stirred, coughing, and for the first time in her life, Anne saw something in her mother's eyes she had never seen before.

Fear.

Anne collapsed to her knees. She barely registered the Celestial Dragons closing in, Kaelar rising once more, Valtheris smirking in the distance.

All she could see was her mother.

All she could feel was the truth sinking in.

I am the thing they fear.

And this time, she didn't know if she could fight it.