Chapter 184: The Ember's Crown

Chapter 184: The Ember's Crown
Adira’s POV

Ash had stopped breathing.

In my arms, he lay motionless, his skin as cold as stone and his chest immobile. He had been almost taken by the void—no, it had struck him more deeply than I knew. I arrived too late.

I put my forehead to his.

My cheeks burned with tears. I was no longer the lost girl. I was more than just the ship. I was Queen of Flame, Ellarien.

And I didn't want to lose him once more.

I inhaled deeply and reached into my inner fire. It was hotter than it had ever been. I no longer had it all to myself. It was really old. Wild. Alive.

I spoke the first flame's name while lowering my lips to his.

"Return, ash of my soul."

The fire poured into his heart from my chest.

He jerked. His veins were flooded with light. He opened his mouth.

He let out a gasp.

His skin regained its colour.

Then I saw it, though.

He opened his eyes.

They were no longer simply golden.

Silver glowed in one eye.

The other is gold.

Stunned, I slowly retreated.

He looked at me and blinked.

"Ellarien?" he mumbled.

"Yes," I said.

He put his hand to his chest.

"Now what am I?"

I didn't respond.

Since I was unaware.

Three days later, we went back to the Ember Hall, where the last flame-bearers from around the world had assembled. The woman—no, the child—was waiting.

She was an adult now.

She was dressed in starlight and fire robes. Her voice was forceful and clear.

"We have to get back up," she declared. "We are the final group. However, we are not damaged.

She held up a fresh flame staff that she had grown from the ember fields in front of the survivors.

She proclaimed, "This is the new Flame Council." "And until the Queen says otherwise, I will lead us."

I smiled gently at her.

Her light had come inside her.

Ash sat quietly next to me. Observing. Listening.

His eyes, those odd ones of gold and silver, never ceased to move.

He had changed. Not any less strong. Not more powerful. It simply changed.

Around a large emberstone, the council assembled. Memory pulsed in its brightness.

The woman claimed that a second parasite was "hidden among us."

There was silence in the room.

"Light isn't necessary," she said. It creates a phoney flame. And thrives on trust.

There were gasps.

Ash tensed.

There was someone in the room who wasn't who they appeared to be.

That night, I was unable to sleep.

Something about the warning continued to agitate me.

So I explored the oldest room in Ember Hall. The elders never went inside.

The smell of old firewood and smoke filled the room.

A mirror stood in the middle.

Tall.

Dark.

With lost runes carved on it.

Despite my heart's warning, I took a step in its direction.

The glass glistened.

Then, I recognized myself.

Not the way I was now.

However, I would be.

I have longer hair. My eyes are more intense. Donning a blazing feather crown.

Additionally, in my hand—

A blade.

Ash knelt before me, hurt.

I lifted the blade.

Additionally, I—

It was driven down by me.

I turned away, gasping.

"No," I said. "That isn't possible."

But the mirror didn’t lie.

It illustrated what was possible.

Not sure. But holding out.

I stumbled back and fled the room.

My hands continued to shake.

Because in the back of your mind... I was unsure if I could ever do him any harm.

But there was an impending event.

Something that could compel me.

We were summoned to the Flame Table by the council in the morning.

The glowing scroll was in the hand of the woman, who was now Solenne, the Lightborn.

She said, "We located the final ember."

The room quieted.

“It sleeps in the heart of a dying star. The Flame Queen herself kindled one of the first stars.

I took a swallow.

I had touched that star a lifetime ago.

Now, though, it was falling apart.

Solenne looked at Ash.

“You must go alone.”

My heart fell. “Why?”

Calm but firm, she gave me a look. Since it appeals to him, and just him. It will close if you go. However, if he goes in, it might open completely.

Ash moved forward. “What happens if the star collapses?”

"The last ember is then lost forever," Solenne remarked.

"With it comes our final hope."

Ash looked across at me.

His face was steady.

But his eyes-those—those weird silver and gold eyes—burned with silent intensity.

"I'll be back," he declared.

I put a hand on his cheek. "You say that all the time."

He gave a sorrowful smile.

He made no more promises this time.

Because it hurts more to break some promises.