The tunnel felt colder now.
The scrap of fabric in Kai's hand was small, torn… but unmistakable.Silver embroidery in the shape of a coiled wing — Advisor Lyrin's personal insignia.
Lina stared at it, heartbeat thundering. "So Seren wasn't wrong. Lyrin was near the core. He did see something."
Seren hugged herself tightly. "He told me to stay quiet. Told me the Seventh Flame meant nothing but danger."
Kai's expression darkened. "If he's working with whoever sabotaged the core, then he's not just a witness. He's part of the plot."
Reyon crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "The better question is… why drop this?" He gestured to the scrap. "Lyrin isn't sloppy."
Lina's breath caught. "Unless he wanted us to follow."
Kai turned to her sharply. "That's exactly what worries me."
A faint tremor rippled through the tunnel floor, making dust drift from the ceiling.Seren yelped. "They're trying to collapse the tunnel!"
"No," Kai said, eyes calculating. "This isn't a collapse. It's pressure. Controlled pressure."
Reyon frowned. "Meaning?"
Kai lifted the fabric scrap. "Meaning they're herding us. Into whatever they want us to find."
Lina's stomach twisted. "And yet we have no choice. We're trapped down here."
Reyon shot her a reassuring wink. "At least you have two stunningly handsome bodyguards."
Kai stepped closer to her instantly. "She doesn't need you for protection."
Reyon smirked. "Well she clearly doesn't need you for humor."
Lina groaned. "Can you two save the rivalry until we're not being hunted?"
They moved deeper, following the direction the shadow had fled.The tunnel narrowed, curving sharply until it opened into a dim alcove carved with ancient runes — nothing like the academy's architecture.
Seren gasped softly. "Older spellwork. Much older. This place predates the school."
Kai inspected the wall, his fingers brushing a glowing sigil. "Someone activated these recently."
"Lyrin," Reyon said. "He's the only one who had access to the lower archives."
Lina stepped forward — and immediately, her rune flared.
Gold light spilled from her wrist, bright but warm, spreading across the wall like liquid sunlight.
Seren stumbled back. "Lina! Your flame—"
"I-I didn't do anything!" Lina cried. "It just reacted—"
Kai moved beside her, eyes fixed on the glowing runes. "No. Someone bound this place to the Flameborn lineage. It reacts only to you."
The runes rearranged, shifting like sliding tiles.
A rectangular outline appeared.
A sealed compartment.
Reyon exhaled slowly. "Oh. This is about to get dramatic."
The compartment clicked open.
Inside lay scraps of parchment — torn, burnt, but still legible.
Kai reached in carefully and withdrew the top page.
His jaw tightened.
"What is it?" Lina asked.
Kai handed it to her.
Her pulse faltered.
It was a list.
Names.Dates.Symbols.
And next to each one… a marking:
ELIMINATEDCAPTUREDMISSING
Seren covered her mouth with both hands. "No… no… these are… these are flameborn."
Reyon leaned in, eyes wide. "The council has been keeping a list—tracking every flameborn in the last century."
Lina's breath hitched when she reached the bottom.
A final name had been added recently:
Lina Veris — Status: PENDING
Her stomach dropped.She felt sick.Cold.
Kai gently placed his hand over hers, stopping her from dropping the page."Lina. Don't look away."
Her voice shook. "They put me on a list. Like… like prey."
Kai's voice was steady, but there was fire beneath it."You're not prey. But they want you to think you are."
Reyon's smirk had disappeared entirely. "This is bigger than we thought. This isn't just sabotage… this is a purge."
Seren whimpered. "But why? Flameborn are supposed to be protectors…"
Reyon scoffed. "Not if power-hungry council members rewrote history."
Another parchment scrap caught Lina's eye — half burned, but readable.
She lifted it, heart pounding.
It said:
"The Seventh Flame emerges only once. Remove it early and the prophecy breaks."
Lina's vision blurred.
"Remove it…" she whispered. "Remove… me."
Kai caught her shoulders. "Lina. Hey. Look at me."
She blinked, breath shaking. His face was close — so close — grounding her again.
"You're alive," he said firmly. "You're here. And they won't touch you."
Reyon nodded once. "Not while I'm breathing."
Seren added softly, "Or me."
Lina swallowed hard. "We need to stop them."
Kai's eyes softened with the smallest flicker of pride. "We will."
But something still felt wrong.
Then she noticed it — in the bottom corner of the compartment.
A symbol etched into the stone.
A watcher's mark.
The same one from her dorm.The same one from the tunnel wall.
But this one…
was signed differently.
A single initial.
L.
Lina stared.
Reyon stiffened. "L… as in Lyrin?"
Seren whispered, "No. Advisors sign their full crest. Only students sign initials."
Kai's voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper.
"Someone else is marking the path. Someone using L."
Lina whispered the only name that came to mind—
"Lyrin didn't leave this."
Then who did?
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.