The Other Side of the Flame
342 Words
Kairo wasn’t his real name.
It was the name he was given when he was chosen.
By day, he was the quiet new kid with soft eyes and careful words. By night, he reported to the shadows. His real life didn’t begin until the sun disappeared.
His orders were clear:
“Get close to her. Watch. Influence. She is the key to the return.”
The elders believed Luna was more than just a descendant. She was the last remaining seed of the original bloodline, a bloodline feared even among dark circles. Her awakening would mark the beginning of something ancient and irreversible.
But what they hadn’t predicted… was how hard it would be to fake his interest.
Because some part of it wasn’t fake anymore.
Kairo’s hideout was in the basement of an abandoned chapel deep in the woods. A place swallowed by ivy and rot, known only to those who still whispered the Old Names.
The altar had been replaced by a summoning circle, and charred symbols scorched into the stone floor. At its center floated a hovering black book bound in skin, its cover etched with writhing silver runes.
Kairo lit the ritual candles and knelt.
He opened the book.
“The subject is emotionally unstable. Signs of activation are increasing. Powers tied to moon cycles and emotional surges,” he whispered into the fire.
The flames shifted purple and silver, listening.
From the darkness behind him, a voice responded.
“She must choose. But if she does not… we will choose for her.”
Kairo clenched his jaw.
“And if she resists?”
“Then make her believe the truth is a lie… and the lie is all she has.”
He nodded, but inside, his chest ached. He saw her yesterday, laughing at something he said, eyes glowing in the sunlight and felt something real.
“Forgive me,” he whispered once the flames died down. “I didn’t think it would get this far.”
Outside, a raven watched from a tree, silent as night.
- Writer
