Chapter 13 – The Flame We Share
[KAIRO'S POV]
He stared at the tree like it might bleed if he touched it.
The mark wasn't just carved.
It was burned into the bark, deep and smoldering, like it had come straight from something alive. Or worse—older than life.
Behind him, Lyra stood still, silent.
But he could feel her shaking.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
---
The guard who brought the message stepped back. "No one saw who did it. No scent. No trail."
Elyna appeared seconds later, her braid loose and her eyes deadly sharp.
She looked at the symbol.
Her mouth tightened. "I've only seen that once before."
---
Everyone turned.
Even Lyra.
Elyna crossed her arms. "My grandmother drew it into the dirt when I was ten. Said it belonged to the Echo-Blooded — the descendants of something the wolves once worshipped, then tried to erase."
Lyra's voice was hoarse. "And what does it mean?"
Elyna looked straight at her.
> "It means you're not a mistake, Lyra.
You're a return."
---
[LYRA'S POV]
They moved the conversation back inside.
The fire stayed low.
The book lay open again on the table.
Elyna flipped pages with surprising calm, until she stopped at one.
It showed a bloodline tree — jagged, fractured, ancient.
Most branches were burned out.
Except one.
A lone mark, far from the others.
Drawn in glowing red ink.
The symbol.
> The flame-swallowed moon.
---
"That line vanished centuries ago," Elyna said. "Everyone assumed it was wiped out."
Kairo's voice was low. "Because it was too powerful."
"No," Elyna corrected. "Because it didn't obey. It didn't submit to packs or politics. It chose who it loved, who it fought for."
Her gaze landed on Lyra.
"And it didn't fear consequences."
---
Lyra couldn't breathe.
"So you're saying I'm… what? Royal?"
"No. You're worse."
Elyna leaned in.
"You're free."
---
The word hit harder than any title.
Free.
Unbound.
Unclaimed.
Uncontrolled.
Kairo stood stiff against the wall, arms crossed, jaw tight.
Not because she scared him.
But because the world would.
---
"Someone left that mark on the tree to send a message," Kairo muttered. "They know what she is."
"And they want her back," Elyna said. "Or destroyed."
---
[KAIRO'S POV]
He waited until Elyna was gone.
Until the others were out of earshot.
Then he turned to Lyra.
"I should've known."
"You couldn't," she said.
"You lit the forest on fire."
"It didn't burn."
He stepped closer.
"You didn't just inherit something. You're waking it up."
---
Lyra looked up at him.
Eyes glowing faintly in the firelight.
"If I'm so dangerous… why haven't you thrown me out yet?"
He didn't answer right away.
Because the truth was messy. Twisted.
Unacceptable.
Because his wolf howled for her.
Because she stirred a power in him he'd buried long ago.
Because when she was near, his scars didn't ache.
---
Instead, he said:
"Because fire recognizes fire."
---
She stepped forward.
He didn't move.
"Then burn with me," she whispered.
---
He caught her wrist before she could move closer.
Their breath mingled.
Their hearts synced.
And for one suspended second—
> The mark on her chest and the one carved into the tree outside glowed at the same time.
---
Something was coming.
But first…
They had to decide what they were to each other.
And what they were willing to burn down to stay alive.