Chapter 21 FIREFLY LAKE
Auren stood on the balcony, staring down at the castle grounds. Omniah's words filled his head. She would die because of him.
Before finding a mate, he practically didn't care. He just wanted to find that girl whose life got to be sacrificed for his. But the moment he set eyes on her in their village,he knew he was definitely going to have issues.
Fuck that dark fae for putting a curse on him!
The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to see Haven standing by the door, leaning on Nerisa for support.
“What do you want?" Her voice came out cold and detached.
“Let's go for a walk. The doctor suggested you exercise more." Auren stretched out his hand. She placed her hand on his, too weak to argue, and with a tenderness that made her sick, he led her outside.
\~~~
The rain had stopped hours ago, but the world outside Mira’s cottage still smelled of damp earth and heartbreak. The hearth fire had burned down to dying embers, casting the room in a weak orange glow.
Mira sat at the table, hands wrapped tightly around a cold cup of tea she hadn’t touched. Her eyes were red, swollen from sleepless nights. Every creak of the wind outside made her flinch, every sound made her look up — hoping, praying, that the door would open and Lyra would come running in.
But it never did.
She hadn’t seen her daughter in two days. Two days.
The chair scraped across the floor as she stood abruptly, pacing the narrow space between the hearth and the door. “She wouldn’t just disappear,” she muttered to herself. “She knows better than that. She promised…” Her voice broke. “She promised me.”
A sharp knock startled her. She hurried to the door and pulled it open and froze.
Outside her house stood a figure she had never seen. Lean, bony, almost humanlike. Its eyes shone like glass reflecting the sun and its cloak was pulled down to cover half of its face.
“How may I help you?" She asked, trying to sound brave when in reality she was shaken with fear.
The figure said nothing. It just scratched out its long, scrawny fingers with an envelope. Mira took the paper and before she could inquire, the figure disappeared.
She stepped into her house, shut the door, tore the envelope and opened the letter.
She froze.
The handwriting was way too familiar. Way too familiar to be true.
\~~~
The path was quiet, save for the rhythmic crunch of boots against the volcanic stone. Auren held Haven, supporting her uneven steps. The faint glow from the molten fissures in the ground painted his back in gold and red, giving him the appearance of something untouchable—divine and dangerous all at once.
She hated how easily he commanded attention, how his presence seemed to fill the entire world.
“Where are we going?” she asked at last, her voice flat.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Auren replied without letting go.
“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” he said, a hint of amusement lacing his tone, “it’s not.”
Her glare could have set him aflame if she had the power. She wanted to turn around, to demand they go back to the palace, to tell him she didn’t need his company, but her curiosity betrayed her.
They descended into a narrow gorge, where the air shifted from hot and heavy to cool and crisp. The sound of rushing water echoed faintly ahead. Haven blinked, surprised. She hadn’t seen water since she’d arrived in Drakorath. The kingdom was made of lava and stone.
When they emerged from the ravine, the sight before her stole her breath.
A wide lake stretched out beneath the twilight sky, its surface glowing faintly as if the stars themselves had fallen into its waters.
Tiny lights—fireflies, but unlike any she’d seen before—hovered above the lake, their bodies shimmering with hues of gold, blue, and violet. The air was thick with their soft, dreamlike glow.
“Firefly Lake,” Auren said quietly, stepping to the edge. “It’s one of the few places untouched by the flames. The heart of Drakorath’s peace.”
Haven’s lips parted, her anger faltering for a heartbeat. “It’s… beautiful,” she admitted, then instantly regretted it.
He turned toward her, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “You sound surprised.”
“I didn’t think dragons cared much for beauty,” she said coolly.
He chuckled, low and soft. “We do. We simply define it differently.”
She frowned, turning away from him to watch the ripples spread across the lake. The reflection of the fireflies danced across her face, softening her sharp features.
“So this is what? Your way of making me forget I’m trapped here?” she asked after a moment.
Auren didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out, brushing his fingers lightly across the water’s surface. The lake responded with a faint shimmer, the glow intensifying like the water recognized him.
“I brought you here,” he said at last, “because you’ve been laying on a bed for two days . You needed air.”
“I need freedom,” she shot back.
He looked at her then, his golden eyes meeting her green ones. “Freedom isn’t something I can give. Ever.”
Her hands clenched. “Then why bother pretending to care?”
Auren sighed, his jaw tightening. “Because I do.”
Haven’s breath hitched, though she tried to mask it with a scoff. “You have a strange way of showing it. Throwing me into the fire, nearly getting me killed. Does that fall under royal affection too?”
His expression darkened. “You survived because you are stronger than you think. The Fire chose you, Haven, not me.”
" Can't it just… choose me? I don't want this."
He stepped closer, the heat from his body brushing against her skin. “It doesn't matter what you want, Little Flame.”
She looked up at him, jaw set, eyes burning. “So I don't get to decide for myself? I just let you make all the decisions for me? “
For a moment, silence. The only sound was the soft hum of the fireflies drifting between them. Then Auren smiled, faintly, though his eyes held an ache he didn’t bother to hide.
“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, ” he said softly.
She shook her head and turned away, unwilling to let him see the confusion in her expression. “I hate you.”
“Perhaps,” he murmured, glancing at the lake again, “but I’ve never been one to be liked. ”
They stood there in silence for a while, two figures bound by fire, pride, and something neither of them could yet name.
When a firefly landed briefly on Haven’s shoulder, glowing gold against her skin, Auren watched quietly. The same bluii hue that had once scared her pulsed faintly beneath her collarbone again, as if responding to the light.
She brushed it off, pretending not to notice.
But Auren did.
And for the first time since the trial, he pondered on what exactly she might be.