The fire welcomed her like a wound.
Seren stepped into the flames, expecting pain—expecting agony. And pain came, oh yes, but not the kind that tore flesh. This was worse. The fire seared through memory, peeling back every layer of her soul like it was stripping bark from a tree, exposing every nerve, every hidden thought, every buried fear.
She screamed.
But no sound came.
There was no air here—only heat, only burning light, only the sensation of walking forward though her body screamed to turn back.
Her hands blistered.
Her feet cracked with each step, skin splitting against the scorched ground.
But she moved forward.
Because somewhere on the other side of this was Kael.
Somewhere beyond the trial, beyond the fire, was the male who had torn down her world and become the only thi
