### Chapter 4: Ember's Ashes
The bond hummed under Kael's skin like a second pulse—Riven's heartbeat, steady and ancient, syncing with his own. He hadn't slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the cultist's severed arm dissolving into ash, felt the *snap* of the rift closing around their combined power.
Dawn bled violet across the dorm window when Lira kicked the door open, balancing two mugs and a plate of something that smelled like cinnamon and danger.
"Rise and shine, eclipse boy," she sang, shoving a mug into his hands. "Nightshade latte. Keeps the nightmares quiet."
Kael took it gratefully. The ceramic was warm, etched with tiny runes that glowed when his fingers brushed them. "You didn't sleep either."
Lira's grin faltered. She dropped onto her bed, legs folding beneath her like a cat. For the first time since he'd met her, the sparkle in her hazel eyes dimmed.
"Bad anniversary," she said quietly. "Three years since the Ember Coven burned."
Kael stilled. "Your family?"
She nodded, picking at a loose thread on her robe. "I was fifteen. We lived in the Emberwilds—floating islands south of the capital, all glass trees and fire lilies. My mother was High Ember, dad was her shield. I was supposed to inherit the flame."
Her voice cracked on the last word. She took a shaky sip of her latte.
"They came at dusk," she continued. "Not the Fractured Eclipse—worse. The Ash Court. Rivals who wanted our bloodline erased. They used a forbidden spell: *Cinderfall*. Turns living flame to ash in seconds."
Kael's throat tightened. "You survived."
"Barely." Lira rolled up her left sleeve. Beneath the glamour, her arm was a map of burn scars—silvery-white against warm brown skin, shaped like licking flames frozen mid-dance. "I was practicing in the greenhouse when it hit. The fire *recognized* me. Instead of burning, it… *carried* me. Through the glass, into the sky. I fell three islands before the university's rescue team found me."
She traced a scar with her thumb. "They said I was the last Ember. The coven's magic died with them—except this." She snapped her fingers. A tiny phoenix of blue-white flame danced above her palm, wings beating slow and mournful. "It's all I have left. A memory that burns."
Kael set his mug down. "That's why you knew about veil-tears."
Lira's laugh was bitter. "I *studied* them. Obsessed. If I could tear the veil wide enough, maybe I could pull Mom and Dad through. Bring them back. Stupid kid logic." The phoenix winked out. "Turns out the veil doesn't work that way. But it *does* answer blood. And grief."
She met his eyes. "Your death? It wasn't random. Someone used *your* grief—your parents' accident five years ago—as the key. Same way they used mine."
Kael's blood ran cold. "You think the cult orchestrated both?"
"I *know* they did." Lira stood, pacing. "The Ash Court vanished after the massacre. Poof. No bodies, no traces. But last year, I found this." She pulled a charred journal from under her mattress—leather cover cracked, pages brittle. "Dad's. Hidden in the greenhouse ruins."
She flipped to a dog-eared page. In spidery script:
> *The Fractured Eclipse seeks eclipse-born souls. They harvest grief to widen rifts. The Ember bloodline guards the veil's southern gate. If we fall, the next target is House Thorne.*
Kael stared. "Riven's family."
"Exactly." Lira closed the journal. "They burned us to get to *him*. You're the wildcard they didn't expect—an otherworlder with shadow essence strong enough to match Thorne blood. That's why they tried to kill you on Earth. When that failed, they pushed you through."
Footsteps sounded outside—sharp, deliberate. Riven's knock was two measured taps.
Lira tucked the journal away. "Play nice. He's part of this whether he likes it or not."
Riven entered without waiting, coat unbuttoned, hair still damp from training. His gaze flicked to the scars on Lira's arm—she hadn't bothered to glamour them back. Something unreadable crossed his face.
"Elowen wants us in the war room," he said. "Cult activity spiked at the southern gate. They're testing the wards."
Lira's jaw set. "Emberwilds."
Riven nodded once. "We leave at dusk. You're coming, Ember. Your fire might be the only thing that can burn their shadows."
Lira's phoenix flared back to life, brighter now. "About damn time."
Kael stood, the bond thrumming with shared resolve. Three broken bloodlines, one fractured veil.
The war had names now.
And they were done running.
**To be continued...**
Written by goddesslove950 love