Chapter 174 EMBER'S DECISION

Chapter 174 EMBER'S DECISION
CHAPTER 174
EMBER'S DECISION

EMBER

I walked slowly toward Headmaster Michal’s office. My hands stayed buried in the pockets of my jacket, fingers curled tight around the fabric. Every step felt heavier than the last. The corridor smelled faintly of floor polish and cold stone.

I kept wondering why they had called me. The only thing that made sense was the visit to the dungeon. Ragnar had said no one would find out, but maybe the sight had shown Michal something.

Or maybe Mordecai had noticed the lock. That was the only rule I had broken. Everything else I had done by the book.

I reached the door and stopped. My pulse thudded in my ears. I took a slow breath, pushed the handle down, and stepped inside.

Michal and Mordecai sat on the far side of the long table. Both of them looked up at the same time. The room smelled of old paper and the bitter coffee Mordecai always drank.

Afternoon light came through the windows in thin strips.

“Sit down, Ember,” Mordecai waved at the seat in front of me. His voice was even, but his shoulders stayed tense.

I closed the door behind me. The latch clicked louder than it should have. I walked to the chair across from them and sat. My fingers immediately started picking at the edge of my sleeve. They kept looking at me without speaking. The silence stretched until my skin felt too tight.

I shifted in the seat. The wood creaked under me. “Did I do something wrong?”

Mordecai’s eyebrows pulled together. He shook his head once. “Why would you think that?”

I pressed my lips together and looked away from his face. My knee bounced under the table. Michal leaned forward. The movement made his chair scrape softly against the floor. His eyes stayed fixed on mine. The skin around them looked tired.

“Have you done something that breaks academy rules?” he asked. His tone was calm, but there was a careful edge to it.

“No,” The word tumbled out of my mouth too fast. I forced my face to stay still and silently hoped the sight would not choose this moment to show him the dungeon.

Michal studied me for several more seconds. His gaze moved over my face like he was measuring something. Then he cleared his throat. The sound was rough.

“We discovered something important,” he said. He glanced at Mordecai, then back at me. His hands rested flat on the table, fingers spread. “We need to talk to you about it.”

He paused, drawing in a slow breath through his nose. “One of the permanent portals that seals the Dark World is cracking. The seal has held for a thousand years, but it is failing. The portals were created by the last Fire Queen before she died. They run on the residual magic she left behind. As the new Fire Queen awakens, that old magic grows weaker. That is why the seal is breaking.”

Mordecai shifted in his chair. The leather squeaked. His jaw was tight when he spoke. “If the portals fail completely, the barrier between our world and the Dark World will collapse. Shadow creatures will be able to cross without limit. The invasion people have feared for centuries will start. There will be no more contained attacks. There will be open war on every side.”

The words landed heavy in my chest. I sat very still. My hands had stopped moving in my lap. The coffee smell in the room suddenly felt too strong.

Michal folded his hands together. His knuckles were pale. “You are the only one who can repair the seals or replace them. To do that, you need to complete your awakening. You need all four elements under full control, and you need to learn how to use the Fire Queen’s power the way it was meant to be used.”

Mordecai’s expression stayed serious. A muscle jumped once in his cheek. “This is about you. We will not make any choice you do not agree to. But a decision has to be made, and it cannot wait much longer.”

Michal spoke again. His voice dropped lower. “You have two options. You can continue training at the normal pace and hope the portals hold long enough for your fourth element to appear on its own. Or you can go through intensive awakening trials. Those trials are designed to force the fourth element to the surface faster.”

I shifted again. The chair felt harder than before. My throat had gone dry.

Michal’s eyes stayed on mine. He drew a deeper breath, and I saw his shoulders rise and fall. “You should know the risks. The trials expose you to raw elemental magic. They push the body and the mind to the edge. Some candidates have died during the process. We are not ordering you to say yes. We want you to think about it and give us an answer when you are ready.”

"Has anyone... survived?" I questioned slowly

"Enough to know it's possible." Michal replied

I nodded. My throat felt too tight for words. I stood up. The chair legs scraped against the floor. I pushed it back into place with more force than necessary and left the office without looking at either of them again. The door closed behind me with a soft thud.

I did not go to my room. My feet carried me to the courtyard. Most of the students were still in afternoon classes, so the benches sat empty. I chose one under a tree and lowered myself onto it. The stone was cool through my clothes. A light wind moved the leaves above me, making soft rustling sounds. I stared at the ground between my boots and let the conversation replay in my head. My hands were cold even though the air was not.

My parents had died protecting me. I still did not know every detail, but I knew enough. They had given their lives so I could live.

The students at Velmora were just trying to learn and grow. Instead they kept getting thrown into attacks they never asked for. Three major shadow assaults in a short time. People were still having nightmares. Some could not sleep without lights on. Others jumped at every sudden sound.

And then there were the ones who never came back. The list of names Michal had read still sat in my memory. Liana’s name was at the end of it. The bracelet on my wrist felt heavier than usual.

I thought about Magnus, Lance, Rowan, Kael, and Ragnar. If the portals failed, Year Three students would be sent to the front lines. They were strong. They had survived the festival. That did not mean they would survive an open invasion. Strength did not always equal survival. I had watched enough people die to know that. The idea of any of them not coming back made my stomach twist.

I thought about the shadow creatures themselves. I remembered the cold that came off them, the way they drained power, the sound of their shrieks. If the barrier between worlds collapsed, those things would not stop at the academy. They would spread. Cities would fall. Ordinary people who had never held a spark of magic would be caught in the middle.

The choice sat in front of me with no soft edges. Normal training meant hoping. Hoping the seal would last. Hoping my fourth element would appear in time. Hoping no one else died while I waited.

The trials meant risking my own mind and body. People had died in them. Michal had not softened that part. My fingers dug into the edge of the bench until the stone bit into my skin.

I pressed my hands together until my knuckles turned white. The wind moved again, carrying the distant sound of a door closing somewhere across the courtyard. I kept sitting there. My chest felt tight, like I could not get a full breath.

If I did nothing and the portals failed, everyone I cared about would be in danger. The guys. The other students. The professors who had tried to protect us. The kingdom I was supposedly tied to by blood. My parents’ sacrifice would mean very little if the world they died to protect was overrun.

I did not want the trials. The idea of having my mind pushed to the breaking point scared me. The idea of losing control and hurting someone scared me more. But sitting still while the seal cracked felt worse. My eyes burned, but no tears came. I was past that for the moment.

I made the decision on that bench. I would go through the trials

If becoming the Fire Queen meant walking into hell willingly... then I'd walk.

If I did not become what I was supposed to be, the people around me would pay the price. That was not a price I was willing to let them pay.

The decision was already made.

I just had to find the strength to say it out loud.