Isoda

> They erased her name. Burned her bloodline. Left her for dead.

But Milena survived. Reborn into the heart of the empire that destroyed her, she moves through the royal courts like a shadow—silent, sharp, watching.

She has no interest in love. No patience for power games. Only one goal: make the crown remember what it tried to forget.

Then she meets him—the Crown Prince.
The man who unknowingly signed her family’s death.
The man who starts to notice her.
The man who, slowly… she can’t stop thinking about.

This is not the story of a girl who wanted to be queen.

This is the story of a forgotten heir who falls in love with her enemy… and still plans to bring down the kingdom

The forgotten blood

The howl outside turned to a chorus — sharp, inhuman, and hungry. Shadowbeasts. Gareth stepped in front of Milena, sword raised, eyes scanning the crumbling doorway.

Maera placed a trembling hand over her heart. "They haven't come this close to the abbey in years. Something draws them."

Milena knew what it was — the ring, the truth, her blood. She could feel the power humming inside her like a sleeping storm. "They smell fear," she whispered, "and they fear the flame."

The first beast lunged through the doorway — all black fur and twisted fangs. Gareth swung hard, knocking it aside. Another crashed through the stained-glass window, shattering centuries of silence.

Not in words, but in memory — her ancestors, warriors of flame, protectors of the realm, rising in her mind's eye. She saw herself as they were: not hunted, not hidden — reborn to lead.

She stepped forward. Fire licked around her palms, golden and wild.

Gareth blinked. "Milena—what are you—?"

A wave of heat exploded from her body, sending the beasts skidding back. The flames danced around her, not burning, not harming — shielding.

She met it head-on, palm glowing, and with a burst of flame, knocked it back into the wall where it vanished in a crack of light and ash.

Even the wind outside had stopped.

Gareth lowered his sword, eyes wide. "You… you just—"

"I remembered," Milena said softly. "I remembered what I am."

Sister Maera knelt again, bowing her head. "You are the Flamebearer reborn."

"No," Milena said, staring at the burning mark now etched into her skin — the crest of House Eldryn. "I am the heir they couldn't erase. And I'm done hiding."

Let me know when you're ready for Chapter 9 — the world is about to feel her return.

The Flame Awakens