A Fire That Remembers
794 Words
CHAPTER TWO.
Lyra couldn’t move.
Kael stood too close.
Too calm.
Too… certain.
“You’re staring,” he said quietly, his voice almost amused.
Lyra snapped out of it, pulling herself back slightly. “You said I have something that belongs to you.”
Her voice was steadier than she felt.
Kael’s eyes dropped—briefly—to her chest.
Not in the way she expected.
No.
Like he was looking at something inside her.
“The fire,” he said.
Her breath caught.
So it was real.
Not a dream. Not her imagination.
“What… is it?” she asked.
Kael didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned away, walking toward the window again as if the conversation bored him.
“It’s not something you ask about like the weather,” he said. “It’s something that destroys kingdoms.”
Lyra’s chest tightened.
“Then why is it inside me?”
That made him pause.
Slowly, he glanced back at her.
“Because it chose you.”
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Dangerous.
Lyra swung her legs off the bed, ignoring the slight dizziness that hit her.
“I want to go home.”
The words felt small the moment they left her mouth.
Kael didn’t even turn around this time.
“No.”
Her jaw tightened. “You don’t get to decide that.”
That got his attention.
He turned—slowly—and this time there was something colder in his expression.
“Actually,” he said, stepping toward her again, “I do.”
The air shifted.
Lyra felt it.
That same strange heat from before stirred under her skin, reacting to him… or maybe to her anger.
“I’m not your prisoner,” she snapped.
Kael stopped just in front of her.
Close again.
Too close.
“No,” he said softly. “You’re something far more valuable.”
Before she could respond, a sharp pain shot through her chest.
Lyra gasped, clutching herself.
Heat exploded inside her.
Stronger than before.
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
“Make it stop—!” she cried out.
The room flickered.
No—the air itself burned.
Flames burst to life around her hands, twisting and lashing like they were alive.
Lyra froze in horror.
“I—I didn’t—”
“Don’t fight it,” Kael’s voice cut through sharply.
She looked at him, panic flooding her eyes. “It’s out of control!”
“Because you are.”
That hit harder than the fire.
Kael stepped forward without hesitation—without fear—and grabbed her wrist.
The moment he touched her—
The fire reacted.
It surged.
Then stilled.
Like it recognized him.
Lyra’s breathing slowed, her body trembling as the flames slowly faded, dissolving back into nothing.
Into her.
Into where they came from.
Neither of them moved.
His hand was still around her wrist.
Warm.
Firm.
And for some reason…
Safe.
Lyra swallowed. “How did you do that?”
Kael didn’t answer right away.
His gaze was fixed on her hand… like he was remembering something.
Or someone.
Then he let go.
“You’re dangerous,” he said quietly.
Her chest tightened. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“I know.”
The words were softer than she expected.
Too soft.
It made her look at him differently.
Just for a second.
“Someone will come for you,” Kael continued, his tone shifting back to cold control. “When they find out what you are.”
Lyra frowned. “Who?”
He met her eyes.
And this time—
There was no softness.
“Everyone.”
A chill ran through her.
“Then why keep me here?” she asked.
Kael stepped back, putting distance between them again.
Because closeness… felt like a mistake.
“For now,” he said, “you’re safer with me than anywhere else.”
Lyra let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. “You expect me to trust you?”
“No.”
He turned toward the door.
“But you don’t have a better option.”
He stopped just before leaving.
“And Lyra…”
She looked up.
“If you try to run,” he added calmly, “the fire inside you will expose you before you make it past the gates.”
Her heart sank.
“That’s not a threat,” he said.
“It’s a fact.”
Then he walked out.
Leaving her alone.
With silence.
With fear.
And with something far worse—
Curiosity.
Lyra looked down at her hands.
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then—
A small flame flickered to life in her palm.
Gentle.
Quiet.
Alive.
It didn’t burn her.
It felt her.
And somehow—
She knew.
This was only the beginning.
- Writer
