The Flame's Awakening

Chapter 60 – The Flame's Awakening

The first rays of dawn barely touched the treetops as Elvis stood before the Circle, her heart racing with a mixture of fear and awe. The women, silent and serene, had surrounded her in a circle of ancient stones, their eyes glowing faintly with power. She could feel the weight of their gazes, the centuries of knowledge embedded in their beings.

She had thought she was prepared for this. For the history of her bloodline, for the power that pulsed in her veins. But standing here, in the heart of the forest where the air hummed with magic, she felt small—an ember surrounded by an inferno.

"Welcome, Queen Mother," the woman who had spoken before said again, her voice soft but filled with reverence. "The time has come for you to learn the truth."

Elvis swallowed hard, her breath catching in her throat. "I'm not ready," she whispered, but her words were lost to the wind.

"You are more than ready, child," the woman replied, stepping forward. "You have already proven yourself by resisting the Hunter's mark. Now, you must learn to control the fire within you before it consumes you."

Thalia, her spectral form lingering at Elvis's side, spoke softly. "Trust in the Circle. Trust in your blood."

The words did little to ease the unease in Elvis's chest, but she nodded, steeling herself. Her grandmother's voice echoed in her mind—The fire will guide you. But only if you are willing to face it.

One of the women, the one with sharp green eyes, stepped forward, her robes trailing behind her like a shadow. "I am Selene," she said, her voice clear and commanding. "I have waited many years for this moment. For you."

Elvis stared at her, confused. "For me?"

Selene smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Yes. For you. For the last descendant of the Fire Line. The one who will either destroy the war or reignite it."

Elvis's heart skipped a beat. "What war? What are you talking about?"

The Circle's silence was deafening. Then, slowly, the women began to chant—low, rhythmic, their words ancient and foreign. The air around them shimmered as if reality itself was warping. Elvis felt the pull of something deep, primal, and powerful, a force that seemed to beckon from the very earth beneath her feet.

Selene placed a hand on Elvis's shoulder, and the moment her skin made contact, the world shifted.

The forest vanished.

Elvis found herself standing in a vast, desolate wasteland. The sky was bruised with red and purple, the ground cracked and lifeless. In the distance, she could see the silhouette of a great city—a city that once might have been full of life, but now stood crumbling, consumed by darkness.

"This is the past," Selene's voice echoed in the silence. "This is what happened when the war began."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, a man draped in dark, tattered robes, his eyes glowing with the same unnatural gold Elvis had seen in the Hunter. He was tall, imposing, and radiated an aura of malice that made the air itself recoil.

"Elvira," he hissed, his voice a low growl. "The flame will die with you."

Elvis's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the man. The Hunter.

But he was different here—older, more powerful. His eyes burned with the same hunger she had felt in the forest, but now, there was something more. Something darker.

Selene's hand tightened on Elvis's shoulder, pulling her back. "This is where it all began," she said, her voice grim. "The Hunter was once a guardian of the flame. He betrayed us all for power. He betrayed the Queen."

Elvis's mind spun. "What do you mean? The Queen? The Fire Queen?"

Selene's gaze hardened. "Yes. Liora, the last Queen of the Fire Line. She was your ancestor, Elvis. The one who united the witches and the vampires. She was the one who brought peace. But the Hunter—he couldn't stand the balance she created. He sought to destroy it, to bend the power of the flame to his own will."

The scene shifted again, and this time, Elvis was standing at the foot of a grand temple. The walls were adorned with carvings of flames and dragons, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly fire. In the center of the temple, a woman stood—a vision of beauty and power, her hair like molten gold, her eyes burning with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Liora.

"Your grandmother, Liora, was more than just a witch," Selene continued. "She was the flame incarnate. The Fire Queen. But she couldn't fight alone. The Circle was with her. We fought to keep the flame alive, to keep the balance between the vampire and witch realms intact. But when the Hunter betrayed us—when he sought to harness the flame for himself—the war began."

The images flickered, and Elvis saw the clash between the two forces—the witches and vampires against the Hunter and his dark army. The skies were torn apart, and the earth itself seemed to bleed. The fire that once unified them now threatened to consume everything.

"Liora died in that war," Selene said softly. "But not before she entrusted the flame to the next generation. To you, Elvis."

The weight of her words hung in the air like a thunderstorm. Elvis could feel the fire within her stir, hotter, fiercer. She had always known there was something about her bloodline, something different about the power she carried. But to be the heir to the Fire Queen? To carry that kind of legacy?

"I don't want this," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"You don't have to want it," Selene said, her tone soft but resolute. "The flame will always choose its bearer. You can either embrace it or fight it, but know this—if you fight it, you risk the entire realm. The Hunter is coming, Elvis. And he won't stop until he's claimed the flame for himself."

Elvis's hands trembled. "How do I stop him?"

Selene's eyes softened with pity. "You must awaken the full power of the flame. Only then will you be able to face him. But be warned—once you do, there's no turning back."

The wasteland around them began to shift, the images blurring into nothingness.

Elvis gasped as the world snapped back into focus. She was back in the forest, standing before the Circle. The women were still chanting, their voices low and steady.

"The awakening has begun," Thalia's voice came softly. "But now, Elvis, you must choose."

Elvis turned to face the woman with sharp green eyes. "What do I need to do?"

Selene smiled, her expression unreadable. "You need to embrace the flame within you. Only then can you become the Queen your bloodline needs."

Elvis took a deep breath, feeling the fire stir within her again. She had already resisted the Hunter's mark, but that was only the beginning. Now, she had to face the truth of her bloodline, the weight of the power she carried, and the dark forces that threatened to tear everything apart.

The fire would guide her. She would become the flame.

And she would burn anything that stood in her way.