Chapter 11: His Voice in the Fire

The nightmares came without warning.

Aurora awoke choking on phantom smoke, her lungs aching as if still filled with soot. Her sheets were soaked, her skin cold despite the heat of the room.

Sebastian burst in, barefoot and breathless.

"You screamed," he said, eyes wide.

She stared at him, tears caught in her lashes. "The fire. I saw it again."

He knelt beside her, gripping her shoulders. "What did you see?"

"I… I was trapped behind the ceremonial hall. The guards had turned. And you—Chenyang—you were screaming my name through the flames."

He closed his eyes. "I never reached you."

"You died too," she whispered. "I saw your body, burned beside mine."

He opened his eyes, pain blooming in them.

"I thought if I came back first, I'd find you before it happened again. I've been watching for you for seven years."

Aurora's chest rose sharply. "You've known me that long?"

He nodded. "I didn't approach because I didn't know if you were her. Not until the jade ring."

Aurora clutched the pendant at her chest.

"I was reborn broken," she said softly. "But maybe we're meant to rebuild each other."

Sebastian didn't speak. He only pulled her into his arms.

And as they held each other in the dark, fire no longer haunted them. It simply reminded them of what had been survived.