Chapter 24 – The Mark That Remember

KAIRO

I knew the name Seraphine would come eventually.

I just didn't think it would come from her.

The mark on Lyra's chest wasn't just pulsing anymore — it was shifting. Evolving. And I was starting to think it wasn't something that had chosen her…

It was something that had been waiting for her.

Elder Merek summoned me before sunrise.

We met in the old prayer ring, half-buried beneath ivy and shadow.

He didn't sit.

Didn't waste time.

> "You need to send her away."

I clenched my jaw. "She's not a threat."

> "She's more than that. She's a memory that refuses to die."

I said nothing.

So Merek stepped forward and pulled something from his coat — a folded scroll. Old. Fragile.

> "This was hidden by the former Alpha. Never to be read unless the mark returned."

I took it carefully and unfolded the edges.

Inside was a single line:

> "When the fire wears a girl's face, and her shadow forgets her name—bury the throne or burn the world."

My blood ran cold.

> "You're not just protecting her," Merek said.

"You're standing between the pack and its end."

I didn't reply.

Because part of me already knew:

> Lyra wasn't just cursed.

She was remembered.

By the flames.

By the mark.

By something older than any moon goddess.

---

LYRA

I watched the mark glow in the mirror.

Not brightly. Just a soft flicker.

But this time… it was shaped.

Not a circle.

Not a flame.

A crown.

Cracked down the middle.

---

Elyna appeared behind me in the reflection.

"You need to see something," she said.

She didn't look afraid. Just tired. Quiet.

I followed her to the healer's den.

Inside, a small wolf pup was trembling on the table, whimpering. His fur was snow-white. His body covered in dark burns.

> "What happened to him?" I asked.

Elyna hesitated.

> "He touched your cloak."

I stepped back, shaking.

> "No. I—I didn't do anything. I wasn't even near—"

> "That's not the point," she said gently.

"It's reacting to anyone who touches anything touched by you."

I wanted to scream. Cry. Burn it all down.

But instead, I just whispered, "Then I should leave."

Elyna looked at me. Not with fear. But something else.

> "Not until you remember why it chose you."

That night, I dreamed again.

But it wasn't the throne this time.

It was a room. Round. Lit by red candles.

A woman stood over a child, pressing her fingers to the girl's forehead.

> "Forget your name," she whispered.

"Forget what you are."

Then her eyes flashed gold.

And I screamed.

I woke up on the floor, chest burning.

And Kairo was there again.

He didn't ask what I saw.

He just wrapped a blanket around me.

But when his hand brushed my back…

He pulled it away fast.

His palm was singed.

His voice cracked low.

> "Lyra… you're changing."

And for the first time, I couldn't tell if he meant it with fear…

Or awe.

---

Meanwhile...

From deep within the trees, someone watched.

A cloaked figure with silver rings and a hollow smile.

> "So... the flame still remembers.

Let's see how long before it burns them both."