Chapter 65 Blood and frie🔥

Chapter 65 Blood and frie🔥
The smell won’t leave my hands.
No matter how many times I wash them, I still smell blood. Burnt metal. Ash. I scrub until my skin turns red. It doesn’t help.

Riven hasn’t woken up..
He lies in the infirmary bed, chest rising and falling in shallow pulls. Bandages wrap his torso. The poison slowed his healing. Not stopped it. Just enough to scare me.

I sit beside him and count his breaths. I lose count. I start again.

Kael stands by the wall. Silent. Watching everything. Watching me.

“You should rest,” he says finally.

I don’t look at him. “I will later.”

“That’s what you said an hour ago.”

“I know.”

Silence again. Thick. Loaded.

“They wanted you to break,” Kael says. “And you almost did.”

I flinch. “I didn’t.”

“No,” he agrees. “You burned instead.”

I stand. My legs feel weak, but I don’t show it.
“Say what you came to say.”

He steps closer. Not touching. Not yet. “Your fire changed last night.”.

“So?”

“So it answered emotion, not intent.”

I meet his eyes. “That scares you.”

“Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate.

“It scares me too,” I admit.

We stand there, close enough to feel the bond hum. I hate how alive it feels when I’m this tired.

“I could have killed them all,” I say quietly.

“Every rogue in that quarry. I felt it. One more breath and I would’ve lost control.”

Kael’s voice drops. “And what stopped you?”
Riven groans softly in his sleep. My chest tightens.

“That,” I say..

Kael follows my gaze. His jaw clenches. “You chose him.”

“I chose life,” I snap. Then softer, “I chose not to become a monster.”.

He studies me like he’s seeing me for the first time. “You already are one,” he says. “Just not the kind they fear.”

The door creaks. Marcus steps in. Blood on his sleeve. Eyes sharp.

“You’re both going to want to hear this,” he says.

I turn. “Talk.”

“The rogue army isn’t reacting,” Marcus continues. “They’re advancing. Fast.
Coordinated. They expected casualties.”

My stomach drops. “They planned for failure.”

“Yes,” Marcus says. “Which means this was a test.”

Kael swears. “Of her.”

Marcus nods. “And of your weakness.”
Riven stirs again. This time his eyes flutter open..

“Riven,” I breathe, rushing to him.

His gaze finds mine. He winces. “Hey,” he whispers. “Guess I lost that fight.”

Tears sting my eyes. “Don’t joke.”

“Still breathing,” he says faintly. “Means I didn’t lose.”

Kael turns away. I notice. I don’t comment.

Riven’s fingers curl weakly around mine. “They wanted you to see me fall.”

I swallow. “I know.”

“They wanted you angry,” he adds. “Unstable.”
“I know,” I repeat.

He squeezes my hand once. “You didn’t give them that.”

I laugh softly. It sounds wrong. “I almost did.”

“But you didn’t,” he says. Then quieter, “That matters.”

Marcus clears his throat. “There’s more.”

I look up. “Of course there is.”

“They’re spreading rumors,” he says. “That your fire consumes mates. That anyone close to you dies.”.

My chest tightens.

Kael snaps, “Cowards.”

“They’re also baiting the Council,” Marcus continues. “Pushing for your execution.”
The room goes still.

Riven’s grip tightens on my hand despite the pain. “They won’t touch her.”

“They’ll try,” Marcus replies. “And when they do, it won’t be subtle.”

Kael steps forward. “Then we strike first.”

“No,” I say. Sharp.

All eyes turn to me.
“They want blood and fire,” I continue. “If we give it to them now, they win.”

Kael frowns. “Waiting costs lives.”

“So does recklessness,” I shoot back.
Riven watches me closely. “What are you thinking?”

I take a breath. My fire stirs, calmer now. Focused.

“I’m done reacting,” I say. “I’m done being bait.”
Kael’s eyes narrow. “Explain.”

“We make them afraid,” I continue. “Not of my power. Of my control.”

Marcus tilts his head. “You want to lure them.”
“Yes,” I say.

Riven shifts, trying to sit up. I press him back gently. “You’re not moving.”

He huffs. “Worth a try.”

Kael crosses his arms. “This puts you at the center.”

“I’m already there,” I reply.

The bond pulses. Approval. Fear. Desire. All tangled.

“There’s one more thing,” Marcus says quietly.
I turn. “What?”

“They’ve started calling you something else.”
My stomach sinks. “What?”.

“The Bloodfire Queen.”

Silence crashes down.

Riven swallows. Kael doesn’t blink.

“That name spreads,” Marcus adds. “Packs will fear you. Or worship you. Either way, they’ll stop seeing you as a person.”

I sit back down beside Riven. Slowly. My hands tremble again.

“I never wanted a crown,” I whisper.

Kael steps closer. His voice is low. “Power doesn’t ask permission.”

Riven looks at me. Soft. Steady. “But you can decide what it becomes.”

I close my eyes. The fire inside me hums, waiting.

“They tried to break me,” I say. “They hurt people I care about.”

I open my eyes.

“I’m done holding back.”

Kael’s mouth curves slightly. “There she is.”
Riven exhales. “Just don’t lose yourself.”
I lean down and press my forehead to his. “I won’t. I promise.”

The promise tastes like ash.

Outside, the moon climbs higher.
And somewhere in the dark, the rogue army prepares for a war they think they understand.

They don’t.