Chapter 45: Burden

Ariel’s POV

The room was still shaking when the last spark of golden light faded from my fingers.

My chest rose and fell fast, too fast. My heartbeat felt like thunder inside me. Damien’s hands were warm on my cheeks, but even that warmth felt far away.

“Ariel,” he whispered, voice rough. “Look at me.”

“I… I can’t.”My voice cracked and I said with a trembling voice. “Damien, something is wrong. I can’t feel my legs.”

His eyes widened—just a little—but I caught it. Damien never showed fear. Not even when fighting witches.

But he was scared now.

“Breathe,” he said, pulling me closer. “Slowly. Just breathe.”

“I am breathing,” I snapped weakly, gripping his shirt. “I can’t stop shaking.”

He held me tighter. “Your powers woke up too fast. Your body isn’t ready.”

A wave of heat rolled through me. It wasn’t normal heat—it felt like someone poured fire into my veins. My vision blurred again, gold and black mixing together.

“I don’t” My voice broke again

“I don’t want this power.”

Damien pressed his forehead to mine. “I know. But you don’t get to choose your bloodline.”

Tears filled my eyes. “Why me? Why did she leave me with this? Why didn’t she tell me anything?”

His jaw clenched. “Ariel, don’t talk like that. Your mother didn’t abandon you.”

“Yes, she did!” I cried. “She left me alone. She let me grow up weak. She knew they would come for me!”

He grabbed my chin gently, forcing me to look into his eyes.

“She hid you,” he said, voice low and firm. “She hid you because witches like them would kill you before you ever got a chance to breathe.”

I swallowed hard. “Damien… I can’t feel my hands.”

He looked down. My fingers were glowing again—faint, shaking, like my body couldn’t decide if it wanted to burn or freeze.

“Ariel,” he whispered, “you’re losing control.”

“I know,” I whispered back. My voice trembled. “I’m scared.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Come here.”

He lifted me into his arms before I could protest. My head rested against his shoulder, and his scent—wood, smoke, danger—wrapped around me. I clutched his shirt as another wave of heat crashed through me.

“Damien—!”

I gasped.

“I’ve got you,” he said, already moving. “I’m taking you upstairs.”

“Why?”

My breathing turned uneven, sharp. “What’s happening to me?”

“You’re overheating,” he said. “Witch blood reacts to power in the body. If it builds too fast, it burns you from the inside.”

“Burns me?” My eyes widened. “I could die?”

He stopped halfway up the stairs and leaned his forehead against mine again.

“You’re not dying,” he said, voice shaking slightly. “Not while I’m here. Not while I’m still breathing.”

I blinked at him. Damien didn’t panic. Damien didn’t break.

But right now, he looked like a man fighting the world with his bare hands.

My chest tightened painfully.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to lose control.”

“You didn’t lose control,” he said. “You saved us.”

He tried to keep his voice steady, but I heard the fear under it. It made my heart twist.

We reached the bedroom. Damien pushed the door open with his foot and laid me on the bed gently, like I was something breakable.

The moment my back touched the sheets, pain shot through my body. “Damien!”

I arched off the bed, gasping.

“Stay with me,” he growled, sitting beside me. “Ariel, look at me. Don’t close your eyes.”

But they were already getting heavy.

“Damien…” My words slurred.

“Everything is… spinning. I feel… hot. Too hot…”

He brushed the sweat from my forehead. “Your body’s trying to stabilize the magic. Fight it, Ariel. Don’t let go.”

“I’m trying…” My vision flickered. “…but I’m so tired.”

“Stay awake.” His voice shook. “Please.”

That word—please—from Damien felt unreal. Terrifying. Heartbreaking.

“Damien…” I reached for him blindly.

He grabbed my hand immediately, squeezing tight. “I’m right here.”

But the heat kept growing. My skin glowed faint gold, my heartbeat pounding too fast, too loud.

“Damien!” I cried again as another wave of fire rushed through me. He didn’t let go.

“Listen to me,” he said, voice firm and desperate. “You are not dying. You hear me? You’re not.”

My vision turned white for a second.

Then.., A soft warm voice whispered in my ear: “You’re not alone, my child.”

I stiffened. My eyes flew open.

“Damien” My voice trembled. “She’s here.”

“Who?” he demanded, leaning closer.But I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t talking about Lily.

Or the witches.

I was talking about someone else.Someone who should have been dead.Someone I had cried for.

My mother.Her voice echoed again, soft and heavy with magic:

“Come to me.”The room spun.

Damien’s voice sounded far away. “Ariel! Stay awake! Ariel!” But I couldn’t hold on anymore.

The fire swallowed me whole.And everything went black.

Ariel’s POV

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Not cold… not empty…

Just dark.

Soft. Heavy. Like sinking under warm water.

I opened my eyes slowly.

I wasn’t in my room.

I wasn’t anywhere real.

I stood in a forest — but not our forest.

This one glowed with golden light, like every leaf was touched by fire. The wind brushed my hair, warm and familiar. I took a shaky breath.

“Where… am I?”

My voice echoed, too loud, too small.

Then I heard it.

Soft footsteps behind me.

“Ariel.”

I froze.

I knew that voice.

I turned slowly.

She stood a few feet away…

A woman with long dark hair, eyes the same shape as mine, glowing faint amber. Her dress shimmered like warm flame. Her face…

God.

Her face.

“Mother?”

My voice broke.

She smiled gently. “Yes, my child.”

My knees almost gave out. I stumbled toward her, tears filling my eyes. “You’re alive— You’re— I thought—”

She reached out, touching my cheek like she used to when I was small. “I never left you.”

“You did,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “You left me alone. You didn’t come back. You didn’t tell me anything. I thought you abandoned me.”

She flinched — just a little. “I’m sorry, Ariel. I had no choice.”

“Why?”

The word choked out of me.

“Why didn’t you tell me who I was?”

She stepped closer, her hands warm on mine. “Because if you knew… you would have died before adulthood.”

My breath hitched. “What do you mean?”

“You are not a simple witch,” she said softly. “You are the Child of Flame — the rarest bloodline. Fire, earth, water, air… all four elements live inside you.”

I stiffened. “But—I can’t even control fire, how can I have all of them?”

“Because you were sealed,” she whispered.

I blinked. “Sealed?”

She raised her hand, touching my forehead. A warm glow spread over my skin.

“When you were born,” she said, “your power was too strong. Even as a baby, you created storms. Fire followed your cries. The earth shook when you laughed. Your magic was wild — beautiful, but dangerous.”

I swallowed hard.

“So I hid you,” she continued, her voice trembling. “I sealed your power. I hid your identity. And I disappeared… to draw the coven away from you.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“So you left to protect me?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Every day away from you was like dying slowly.”

I covered my mouth, sobbing. “Why didn’t you come back?”

“I tried,” she whispered. “But the coven found me. They trapped me. I cannot leave the astral plane unless the seal breaks.”

“And the seal… broke tonight,” I whispered.

She nodded. “Your power is waking.”

A heavy silence hung between us.

“Mother…”

My voice shook.

“Am I dangerous?”

“No,” she whispered. “You are destiny.”

I trembled. “They came for me. Three witches. They said I broke a vow by marrying Damien.”

Her jaw clenched. “The coven hates wolves. They believe your power should belong only to them. Your marriage to Damien binds your flame to a bloodline they cannot control.”

I felt pain rise in my chest again. “Are they going to kill him?”

She squeezed my hand. “They will try.”

“No!”

I shook my head hard. “They can’t. I won’t let them.”

“My child,” she said softly, “your power is strong. Stronger than you know. But without training… it will destroy you and everyone you love.”

My stomach twisted. “What do I do?”

She stepped closer, placing her hand on my heart.

“Wake up,” she whispered.

“Come to me. I will guide you.”

“I don’t know how—”

“You will.”

She kissed my forehead.

“I am always with you. Even when you cannot see me.”

The golden forest trembled. The world flickered.

Behind her, shadows rose. Dark, tall, sharp — the coven’s magic. Clawing toward us.

My breath caught. “Mother—”

She pushed me backward gently. The forest began to fade around me.

“Go,” she whispered, her voice turning urgent.

“Wake up now.”

“Mother!” I cried. “Come with me!”

“I can’t,” she said, her voice breaking. “But I will protect you as long as I can. Now go—before they reach you.”

The world shattered into light.

And I fell.

\---

Damien’s POV

“Ariel, wake up. Ariel!”

I held her face between my hands, my heart pounding so loud it felt like my chest might split.

She wasn’t breathing right.

Her skin glowed faint gold.

Her body trembled violently, magic pulsing under her skin like it wanted to break free.

“Damn it—Ariel—look at me!”

Her eyes were closed tight, her lashes wet with tears. She whispered something—too soft to hear.

I shook her gently. “Ariel! Come back!”

Her fingers twitched.

Then she gasped—hard—like she was drowning.

“Ariel!” I pulled her into my arms without thinking. “Breathe. Come on, baby, breathe for me.”

She clutched my shirt, her whole body shaking. “Damien…”

Relief hit me like a punch.

“I’m here,” I whispered against her hair. “I’m right here.”

She pulled back slightly, eyes unfocused, filled with fear. “Damien… she was there.”

“Who?”

“My mother.”

I froze. “You saw her?”

“She spoke to me.”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“She told me I’m the Child of Flame. She said the coven will kill you.”

I touched her face, forcing her to look at me. “They will try. But they won’t succeed.”

“You don’t understand,” she cried. “They’re coming again—this time stronger. My mother said—”

I cut her off gently, squeezing her hand.

“I don’t care if the entire coven comes,” I said slowly. “They will not touch you. And they will not touch me.”

She stared at me, eyes shining.

“Damien…”

Her voice cracked.

“I’m scared.”

I pulled her close, my lips brushing the side of her head.

“I know,” I whispered. “But you’re not alone. Not anymore.”

Her fingers gripped my shirt tightly.

“And Ariel,” I added softly, lifting her chin so she looked into my eyes,

“whatever you saw in there… whatever she told you…”

I brushed away her tears.

“You are mine. And I will fight for you until my last breath.”

She choked on a small sob and pressed her forehead to my chest.

Outside, the wind howled.

Inside, her magic trembled again — stronger, brighter, waiting.

And I knew:

This was only the beginning.