The shadow beast attacked at dawn.
Mist still clung to the forest floor, and pale sunlight barely pierced through the twisted branches above. Birds had gone silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. Elara woke to the sound of snapping twigs and a low, guttural growl that vibrated through the ground.
"Kael," she whispered urgently, shaking his shoulder.
Before he could fully rise, the creature burst from the fog.
Its body was formed of living darkness, long claws dripping with black mist and eyes glowing with sickly violet light. It moved faster than anything Elara had ever seen.
Kael reacted instantly.
He leapt in front of her, raising his cracked blue shield.
"Stay behind me!" he shouted.
The beast roared and slashed wildly. Kael blocked the first strike, but the second tore through the side of his armor. Flesh ripped open.
"Kael!" Elara screamed.
Blood spilled down his side and soaked into the dirt beneath his boots. He staggered, nearly dropping to one knee.
"Run!" he shouted through clenched teeth. "Get out of here!"
But Elara couldn't move.
Her heart pounded violently as fear exploded inside her chest. The embers responded instantly, bursting from her skin in wild black-gold flames. The air heated sharply. Leaves curled and burned midair. The shadow beast shrieked as fire surged toward it.
"Stop!" Kael yelled, spinning around and grabbing her wrists. "Look at me!"
His hands were shaking. His face was pale.
Elara's vision blurred with tears. "I don't want to lose you!" she sobbed. "Everyone disappears. Everyone leaves me!"
The flames wavered, flickering uncertainly.
Kael stepped closer despite the pain, forcing her to meet his eyes. "If you let the fire control you, it will only create more loss," he said softly. "I'm still here. Stay with me."
Elara took a trembling breath.
She focused on Kael's face. On his labored breathing. On the warmth of his hands around hers. On the desperate need to protect—not destroy.
The embers shifted.
Their violent heat softened into warm golden smoke that flowed gently from her palms. It wrapped around Kael's wound like glowing silk, sealing torn flesh and knitting muscle back together. The bleeding slowed… then stopped.
Kael gasped sharply and nearly collapsed forward.
She caught him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The shadow beast, weakened by the earlier blast, dissolved into drifting ash carried away by the morning wind.
Kael finally exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to his side. "You saved me," he whispered, disbelief and gratitude mixing in his voice.
Elara's strength vanished all at once. Her knees buckled as she collapsed into his arms.
"I'm scared all the time," she cried into his chest. "I don't understand this power. I don't understand myself."
Kael wrapped his arms around her carefully, holding her close.
"Good," he said gently. "It means you still care. And as long as you care… you'll never become the monster they fear."
Elara closed her eyes, breathing in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
For the first time, she realized something important.
Her fire did not exist to destroy.
It existed to protect.