Chapter 96 — The Voice in the Flame

Chapter 96 — The Voice in the Flame
Scarlett

The fire whispered my name.

At first, I thought it was the wind brushing against the cracks in the ruined chapel wall. But then it called again—low, feminine, and familiar in a way that made my skin prickle and my stomach knot.

Scarlett...

I froze, halfway through brushing ash from the edge of my tattered cloak. Outside, night bled across the horizon, turning the sky into a bruise of indigo and silver. But inside, the dwindling fire in the hearth flared suddenly, unnaturally, casting shadows that moved against the grain of the stone floor.

My breath caught in my throat. "Kael?" I whispered instinctively, as if he could somehow be the source—but I already knew it wasn’t him.

The voice didn’t answer, not with words.

Instead, the flames bent inward, curling unnaturally toward the center of the fire, then shot upward in a single pillar of gold and violet light. The heat didn’t scorch me—it wrapped around my spine like a shiver, familiar and terrifying. I backed away, my fingers automatically drifting to my belly, cradling the life stirring beneath my ribs.

A flicker moved within the fire. A silhouette—no, a figure. Female. Pale-skinned, eyes like molten copper, and hair as dark as oil slicked across moonlight. She didn't emerge from the fire; she became it. Her limbs, her face, all sculpted in flame and smoke. Her lips curved into something between sorrow and satisfaction.

And I knew her name.

“Seliora.”

She was legend, myth—a creature whispered about in ancient vampire tomes. The consort of the first blood prince. Betrayer of realms. The one who fed on infants to see the future, and yet wept over the death of stars.

And she was looking at me.

“You carry what is mine,” Seliora said softly, her voice layered like a thousand women speaking as one. “And what was always meant to be mine.”

My legs threatened to collapse beneath me. “You’re not real. You’re a memory—an echo—”

“Memory is power,” she interrupted. “And I have been waiting.”

The air thinned. I clutched at my chest, willing the baby inside me to stay calm—to stay safe. The flutters beneath my hand grew more insistent, and with them, a warmth pulsed outward, pushing back at the flames.

Seliora hissed and recoiled slightly, her shape wavering.

“He’s not yours,” I said through gritted teeth. “He’s mine. You have no claim.”

“Oh, child,” she whispered, and for a terrifying moment, her voice was tender. “You think you chose this path? You think your love and pain birthed a prophecy?”

She stepped closer through the fire, and this time I felt her. Cold and hot at once, like frostbite beneath a sunburn.

“Your bloodline was shaped for this. A long game, played by the dead. You are merely the vessel. A crownless queen—”

“Then I’ll change the rules,” I snapped, straightening. “I won’t let him be used.”

Seliora's expression darkened. “There are older rules than yours. You can’t outrun fate. Not even Kael could.”

His name coming from her lips sent a jolt through me.

“What do you know about Kael?” I asked.

But Seliora just smiled. The fire flared—bright and violent—and in the heart of it, for a blink of a second, I saw Kael. Bound in shadows. Blood trailing from his temple. Kneeling in a stone circle carved with sigils I didn’t recognize.

“Where is he?” I demanded. “What did you do to him?!”

Seliora’s face flickered. “He is not the danger,” she said cryptically. “But the key. You’ll have to decide which locks he opens.”

And with that, the fire collapsed. No sound, no smoke. Just embers hissing in the hearth, like nothing had happened.

But everything had changed.

I fell to my knees, sweat cold on my neck. My heart beat too hard, too fast. Kael—wherever he was—was in danger. That much was clear. And worse, Seliora was after my child.

The baby kicked, more strongly than ever. My blood sang with power—mine, and something more. Something ancient, stirring in response to the threat.

A door creaked open behind me.

I whirled, hand already reaching for the dagger at my belt.

Lucien stepped into the room, his eyes sharp. “I felt a pulse of magic,” he said. “You look like hell.”

I ignored the insult. “We need to move. Now.”

He stilled, assessing me. “What did you see?”

“I didn’t see it.” I looked him dead in the eyes. “She came to me, Seliora.”

Lucien’s face lost all color. “That’s not possible, she’s dead, gone.”

“She’s not. Not completely.” I stood, my knees trembling. “She wants the child. And Kael—he’s trapped, or worse. I saw him in the flames.”

Lucien swore, dragging a hand through his tousled hair. “This changes everything. If Seliora’s involved…”

“She called my baby hers,” I said, my voice shaking. “Lucien, this isn’t about kingdoms anymore. This is about something older, and darker.”

His jaw clenched. “Then we’ll find Kael, and kill her.”

I didn’t tell him that I didn’t think Seliora could be killed—not in any way that mattered. Instead, I nodded.

We packed quickly. I tucked a charm Kael had once left me into my pocket—the one that still glowed faintly with his blood magic. The only thread I had left.

We slipped into the night, heading for the mountains. Toward the place I saw in the flames.

As we passed through a narrow ridge, the wind howled low and strange. Like a voice without a throat. And behind us, hidden among the trees—

Something watched.

Its eyes burned violet in the dark.