chapter six:The first flame
230 Words
The night crept in like a whisper, cold and unnerving. Lila hadn’t left her apartment since Cassian’s warning. She sat curled up on the couch, blanket around her shoulders, the glow of the mark beneath her skin faint but constant—like a heartbeat that wasn’t hers.
Cassian stood by the window, watching the street below with quiet intensity. He hadn’t spoken much since earlier. His presence comforted her, though she wouldn’t admit it.
“Why me?” she finally asked.
He didn’t turn around. “Because you’re the last of your bloodline. The only one left with fire in her soul.”
She laughed, hollow and disbelieving. “I don’t feel powerful. I feel terrified.”
“That’s how it always begins,” he said softly. “Fire isn’t born from calm. It comes through pressure. Through fear. Through pain.”
Suddenly, a sharp knock echoed from the door.
Lila jolted upright.
Cassian’s posture stiffened. “They’re here.”
“Who?”
Before he could answer, the lights flickered. A cold wind burst through the windows—though none were open. Shadows slithered along the walls, whispering in voices she didn’t recognize.
Lila clutched her chest. The mark was burning now—bright and alive.
Cassian stepped in front of her, his voice like steel. “Stay behind me.”
The veil was thinning.
And war had found her.
- Writer
