The Trial By Flames

A thud came from outside the door.

Elyria rose to open the door, only to find an empty hallway. When she stepped into the hall, barefoot, still drowsy after yesterday's adventure, she was not the adventure type. A presence ahead shook her.

A servant waited in silence. Not the usual half shadow attendants, but a horned woman in black robe, her face marked with ink.

"The Path has chosen you," the woman said, her voice like wind. "You will walk at dusk."

Elyria's stomach dropped. "The what?"

"The Trial by Flame."

Before she could argue, the woman vanished into smoke.

---

Kaelith found out moments later.

He burst into her chamber not with his usual taunt. But with fury. His eyes were pure gold, engulfed with rage, the shadows of his coat swirling like wings.

"They summoned the Path," he growled. "Without my consent. Without the Circle's full vote."

Elyria stared at him, still stunned. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Kaelith snarled, "someone wants you dead. Or broken."

"The fire was not made for humans."

Her pulse raced. "Who?"

The shared a stare.

Kaelith's jaw clenched. "I warned her."

"Warned who?"

"Who?" She stood up now.

"Veyra" he stormed off

"Your girlfriend, of course"

"Why?"

"Kaelith, wait." He'd already vanished.

Elyria stood in her chambers Still confused.

"That was comforting." She whispered.

---

The confrontation came swiftly.

In the courtyard, Kaelith descended upon Veyra. She stood like a sculpture wrapped in silk, awaiting him as though she had known he would come.

"You went too far," Kaelith hissed.

Veyra's eyes unreadable, held his. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't play games with me. You know exactly what."

"I don't know what you are on about, kaelith."

"Elyria, i told you to stay away." He fired

"Oh."

"But it wasn't my doing. The flames called her."

Still holding his gaze.

"She's just your consort in name only, right? The fire feed truth. Or doesn't that suit your games, Kaelith?"

He advanced, too close. "We both know that's not the reason, you want her gone."

"Whoa," she said, placing a hand over her chest mockingly. "Why would I go through all this trouble just to get rid of some human princess?"

Veyra tilted her head. "Unlike you, i actually want her seen. Besides if she survives the Path, you'll have more than a bride, you might even have a princess."

His voice dropped. "She's not ready."

"No one ever is. Not even you."

Kaelith froze. The word struck a memory: A ring of flame, screams, chains, a younger him crawling from ash with bloodied teeth.

Veyra stepped back. "If you truly care for her, stop hovering. Let the fire decide."

"Maybe she is stronger than she looks."

---

Dusk fell like a blade.

The palace transformed. Walls reshaped, peeled open. Lights dimmed. A corridor of fire emerged between columns of stone. Elyria stood at its mouth in a simple white robe. No jewels. No weapons. Just her, bare foot on obsidian.

Kaelith watched from the shadows above, his hands clenched at his sides. A crowd of demon nobles filled the outer ring, watching with eager silence.

The Trial Keeper stepped forward, veiled and enormous.

"Elyria, princess of Evaris. You may walk."

She swallowed hard and stepped forward.

Inside the Path, fire moved like breath.

The flames didn't burn.

Not yet.

She walked on a road that wasn't stone, but memory. Each step called forth a vision.

A church ablaze. Her father's voice screaming prayers. A girl—herself? Maybe, they stood untouched in the heart of it all, hands glowing.

Then: chains. Around her wrists. Kaelith in agony, shackled to an altar. Blood dripping from his mouth.

Then: The girl again, but older. Crowned in bone. Her eyes glowed gold, the same gold Kaelith carried.

A voice echoed through the flames:

"Yours is not a borrowed fire. It was taken from you. Reclaim it."

The heat surged around her. She screamed not just in pain, but also in defiance. The fire wanted to test her but it would not consume her.

More visions swirled.

A black-winged creature reaching for her throat. Kaelith standing before her with a blade. Veyra, whispering something into a mirror that rippled like blood.

Then the path darkened. Silence fell.

She fell to her knees.

The world shattered.

She emerged barefoot, eyes wide, half her robes gone.

Silence met her. And then acknowledgement. From few of the noble houses.

No one expected her to come out, alive at least.

Veyra didn't move.

But her gaze burned with something new. Fear.

Kaelith appeared beside Elyria in a heartbeat. Keeping a distance, she still carried the Flames.

"What did it show you?"

Elyria's voice shook. "Everything."

His eyes watched her in silence.

The Path had spoken.

The flame was hers now.