Ruby

The Ashlands always smelled like smoke. Not the sharp, acrid burn of fresh fire, but something deeper—like embers buried beneath ash, waiting for a gust of wind to bring them roaring back to life. The air carried that scent now, thick and suffocating, clinging to my skin as I walked in silence beside Andre and Sol.

I could still hear the distorted cries from the Echo if I let myself focus too hard. The bloody footprints. The overwhelming grief pressing against my ribs like a vice. I hadn't spoken about it since we left the alley, and neither had Andre. Sol, on the other hand, was watching me closely, like she was trying to figure something out.

I ignored it.

"Where are we going?" Sol finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Our hideout," Andre answered. "It's not far."

Sol raised an eyebrow. "You two have a hideout? What, some abandoned house?"

I shot her a look. "Something like that."

We turned down a narrow path, moving deeper into the ruined outskirts of the Ashlands. The buildings here were skeletal remains of what they once were—blackened wood, shattered windows, structures leaning as if they were too tired to stand any longer. The streets were mostly empty, but there were always eyes somewhere. Watching. Judging.

My fingers twitched at my sides. I was used to it.

Andre took the lead, cutting through a crumbling alleyway that would bring us to the hideout faster. But the second I turned the corner, I felt it.

The heat.

Not from the air, not from the distant volcanic ridges. This was fresh. The kind that prickled against my skin, made my stomach drop before my mind even caught up.

Then I saw it.

What was once our hideout— was now a smoldering ruin. Charred wood, collapsed beams, a thick column of smoke curling into the sky.

Gone.

For a second, I didn't move. Didn't breathe.

My vision blurred at the edges, but not from the smoke.

Andre cursed under his breath beside me. "Damn it." His fists clenched at his sides. "We weren't gone that long—"

"Doesn't matter." I swallowed, my throat dry as I took a slow step forward. "It was long enough."

There was no mistaking the message behind this.

It wasn't just about scaring us off.

Someone had found out I was a fire user.

But it wasn't just the wreckage that made my stomach turn.

It was what was left behind.

The walls that were still standing were covered in spray-painted words, messages smeared in black and red. Some were simple:

FIRE SPREADS. SO DOES FILTH.

ASH TO ASH. MONSTER.

One, bigger than the rest, stretched across the remains of the front wall:

VELKYN SCUM

I stared at it for a long time, my chest tight.

I had known—of course I had known. The people here didn't just hate the Pyrosoul. They hated anyone born with fire related juju. My family had made sure of that. But seeing it like this, painted in the ruins of the only place we had left…

It was different.

Sol tilted her head. "wait— Velkyn? Like…"

Andre and I exchanged a look.

Andre sighed. "Yeah. That Velkyn family."

The weight of our words hung between us, heavy as the smoke curling through the wreckage.

Sol didn't say anything right away. Sol's expression twisted into something unreadable, She just stared at me and Andre, her sharp red eyes flicking between us like she was trying to piece something together. Then, after a beat, she let out a slow exhale and ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, shit." she muttered. "That explains a lot."

I crossed my arms. "Yeah? Like what?"

She shrugged. "Like why your fire seemed strong. And why someone torched your place." Her gaze swept over the charred ruins. "Though, gotta say, this seems a little extreme. You guys piss off the wrong people?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "A lot of people apparently."

Andre shot me a look, but I ignored it. I could still feel the phantom heat of the flames licking at my skin, could still see the ugly words spray-painted across the walls.

MONSTER.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.

Sol must've noticed because she huffed. "If you're that shaken over a little fire, you're not gonna last long out here."

My head snapped up, fire roaring in my veins before I could stop it. "Excuse me?"

Andre immediately stepped between us, holding up a hand. "Alright, let's not start this right now." He looked at Sol. "She's not shaken over the fire." Then at me. "And you don't have to prove anything."

I scowled but didn't say anything. The heat simmered beneath my skin, but I swallowed it down, shoving my hands into my pockets instead.

Sol watched me for another second, then just smirked. "Tch. Fine." She turned away from the wreckage. "Not much left to stick around for anyway."

She had a point.

Andre sighed. "We should move. I know a place we can lay low for a while."

Without another word, we started walking.

The Ashlands were always restless. Even at night, the streets flickered with dim torchlight, the shadows stretching long and jagged across the cracked stone. People lurked in alleys, whispering deals under their breath, exchanging goods and glances that carried the weight of unspoken threats.

I was hyper-aware of all of it now. Every flicker of movement in the dark, every shift in the air. The Echo had left something behind in me—a lingering sense of unease, like the world wasn't quite solid anymore.

Sol didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. "So," she started, voice casual, "why are you guys out here, anyway?"

Andre and I exchanged a glance.

"Just passing through," he said.

Sol snorted. "Right. Sure. Two members of Solvurns mighty royal family slumming it in the asscracks of the ashlands for fun." She said sarcastically 

She didn't believe us. Not that I blamed her. We weren't exactly blending in, and with our hideout burned down, we weren't doing a great job of staying under the radar.

Sol kept pushing. "You know about the Vessel, don't you?"

Something about the way she said it made my stomach twist. I forced my face to stay neutral. "What about it?"

Sol tilted her head. "You tell me."

I bristled at the way she was testing me, but before I could snap back, Andre cut in smoothly, "We've heard the rumors."

Sol hummed. "Then you know some people think the Vessel is the key to stopping this mess."

I crossed my arms. "And what, you believe that?"

"I don't believe anything until I see proof," she said. "But I do know people are looking for it." She gave me a pointed look. "Dangerous people."

I didn't break eye contact. "And you're not one of them?"

She grinned. "I just like to know things."

That didn't make me feel any better.

Before I could say anything else, a sudden chill prickled at my skin.

I stopped walking.

Andre noticed immediately. "What is it?"

I wasn't sure. But something felt wrong. Not like an Echo—there was no shift in reality, no distortion of time. This was different. It was sharp and present, like the air had turned hostile.

Then I saw it.

A figure.

Far down the street, barely more than a silhouette against the dim torchlight. Not moving, not speaking. Just watching.

Sol followed my gaze and tensed. "Shit."

Andre's expression darkened. "We should get off the streets."

I didn't argue. Whatever was out there, it was watching us, and it wasn't leaving us alone.