~Elara's POV~
I hadn't expected the silence that followed.
The Trial of Flame had been so loud so overwhelming, that I thought the world would never be quiet again. But as I descended from the ruins of Aeryndale, the forest greeted me not with whispers or wind, but with a reverent hush. Even the trees bent slightly as I passed. As though they knew. As though everything knew.
I wasn't sure what I was now. Witch? Wolf? Curse? All of it blurred within me, fire and blood twined together. My mother's lineage burned inside my veins, no longer dormant but singing. The runes on my skin still glowed faintly, as though alive with breath and pulse. I wrapped my cloak tighter around myself, but it wasn't the cold I feared—it was the weight of what came next.
The sanctuary was waiting.
And so was Nyssa.
The moment we reached the edge of the warded forest, Kade moved closer, not touching me but close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. His energy vibrated through the bond—tight, alert, protective. But there was also something else there now. Restraint.
I knew why.
Since the Trial, the bond had shifted. Deepened. I could feel him more clearly—his anger, his worry, his longing—all tangled beneath his armor of control. He was holding back not just for my sake, but for his. Whatever he'd seen in my trial, whatever my fire had reflected back at him, it had scarred something beneath his skin.
"You're avoiding me," I murmured, eyes straight ahead.
"I'm giving you space," he said, flatly.
"That's not the same."
He didn't respond, and I didn't push. Not yet. Because the truth was, I wasn't sure if I was ready for the answer either.
~Kade~
I wasn't avoiding her.
I was protecting myself. From what I'd seen in her. From what she'd seen in me. That fire… it hadn't just revealed Elara's potential; it had exposed my own rot. My failure to stop the curse before it reached her. My father's madness bleeding through our bloodline. My desire, tangled and feral, to keep her—even if it meant dooming her.
And now she walked beside me, brighter than a sun, calmer than I'd ever seen her. She was more in control, more powerful, and somehow more distant than ever.
I wanted to reach for her.
But I didn't know if I was still worthy too.
When we reached the sanctuary gates, Nyssa stood at the threshold, draped in a silver shawl woven with crescent sigils. Her eyes glowed softly with moonlight, but even her composure faltered for a beat when she saw Elara. Her breath caught.
"You survived," she said, her voice both awed and afraid.
"I awoke," Elara corrected, stepping through the circle. "And I remember everything now."
I watched as Nyssa knelt, not out of submission, but reverence.
"You are the flame reborn," she whispered. "You carry the voice of the first coven. We have waited generations for you."
Elara didn't flinch, but something darkened in her expression. "Then why did my mother die alone, hunted? Why did no one protect her?"
Nyssa rose slowly. "Because she ran."
The tension coiled instantly in the air. I stepped between them out of instinct, but Elara's hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"She didn't run," Elara said. "She sacrificed herself to keep me hidden. To keep this hidden."
Nyssa nodded once, her gaze heavy. "Then the price was paid. And now we must reclaim what was lost."
~Elara'POV~
They brought me to the Heartstone Chamber, deep beneath the sanctuary, where the roots of the world coiled like sleeping serpents. The walls were carved from obsidian and quartz, veins of magic humming in the stone. At the center was a pedestal. Upon it rested a blade.
The Flamebinder.
Forged by the witches of old and quenched in the blood of traitors. It wasn't just a weapon. It was a key. To the next step. To the Guardians.
I felt drawn to it, like gravity.
"Take it," Nyssa said. "If you are truly her heir, it will not burn you."
I hesitated. The blade pulsed red. Alive.
Then I reached out and the moment my fingers touched the hilt, a rush of heat surged into my chest. Visions flooded my mind. Witches burned alive. Wolves slaughtered. A sisterhood fractured by betrayal. I saw my mother again, this time holding the blade, sobbing, then throwing it into a river of fire.
The same fire I had passed through.
I gripped the weapon tighter and felt it settle into my palm, like it recognized me.
"It's yours now," Nyssa whispered.
I wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.
~Kade's POV~
She held the blade like she was born with it. I watched from the shadows, arms crossed, every instinct screaming. The Elara I had met weeks ago would've trembled at the sight of a relic like that. Now she wielded it like it had been forged from her bones.
She wasn't afraid anymore.
But I was.
Because I had seen this kind of power before—absolute, beautiful and dangerous. My father had touched it once and fallen into madness. Elara was stronger. Sharper. But I still saw the warning signs. The way her shoulders tensed. The way she seemed both here and somewhere else at once.
The power wasn't consuming her.
But it was changing her.
And I didn't know what kind of creature would emerge by the end of this war.
Watching Elara clutch the Flamebinder blade, a surge of conflicting emotions roared through me—pride, fear, and something darker, something raw and ancient that clawed beneath my ribs. I had sworn to protect her, yet the more powerful she became, the more I felt like a caged wolf, snarling at the edges of my own limits.
I thought of my father—Cyrus—how his obsession with power had devoured everything. How the curse twisted his mind until all that was left was a beast driven by rage and regret. I was terrified Elara might be walking that same razor's edge, the same path to destruction.
The bond between us pulsed beneath my skin, a tether pulling tight as her magic flared. I wanted to reach out, to touch her and soothe the fire that blazed within, but something stopped me—a barrier forged by fear. What if I couldn't save her? What if I became the monster she needed to fight against?
My wolf growled low in my chest, warning me to guard her—and yet, it also whispered to protect myself. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, fighting the urge to break the wards and cross the line Nyssa had set. But the Alpha code was clear: control. Restraint. Never let the pack see you falter.
I had failed once. When my father went feral, I was powerless to stop him. The memories haunted my nights—the blood, the screams, the feeling of helplessness as my own bloodline crumbled. I had vowed that if darkness ever touched me again, I would be ready.
But now, facing Elara's rising power, I realized I was not just fighting outside forces—I was battling the darkness inside myself.
I remembered the nights I spent alone in the black forests of the North, howling at a sky that offered no answers. The curse was a poison, and I was afraid it had already seeped too deep.
Yet beneath the fear was something else. Something stubborn and fiercely protective. Elara wasn't just the girl who had stumbled into my life—she was my mate, bound to me by blood and soul. And no matter the cost, I would stand with her. Fight for her. Even if it meant standing in the fire beside her.
But the question gnawed at me relentlessly: would the fire that forged her also burn us both to ashes?
Every glance she cast my way was a battle—pulling me in, but warning me back. Her eyes held secrets I wasn't sure I was ready to face, and yet I couldn't look away.
I hated how much I needed her. How much she unsettled the carefully guarded walls I had built around my heart.
I was Alpha of the Nightshade pack, CEO of a corporation that wielded power in the human world as deftly as I commanded my wolf within. I was a man who controlled his destiny. But with Elara, control slipped like smoke through my fingers.
And the darkness was watching. Waiting.
For cracks to appear.
For weakness to show.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to focus on the present, on the threat looming beyond the sanctuary walls and the rival factions tightening their grip.
I couldn't afford distraction.
Not now.
Because if I lost her, if I lost myself, I might never find either again.