Chapter Five: The Lesson of Blood and Flame
2126 Words
Kael didn’t sleep.
At dawn, I found him standing at the chapel’s edge, where the tree roots broke the earth like claws. His black coat whipped in the morning wind. He looked less like a seventeen-year-old boy and more like something sculpted from midnight and war.
“You’re early,” he said without turning.
“I didn’t sleep.”
“Good. You’ll learn faster.”
“That’s not how it works—”
He tossed something at me.
I caught it out of reflex.
A dull, curved dagger. Not silver. Not steel.
The blade shimmered gold in the light.
“Lesson one,” Kael said. “Control is earned. Not granted.”
The morning was cold, but my blood ran hotter than it should’ve.
I stood in a ring of fallen stone just outside the chapel while Kael paced around me like a warden.
“You have power,” he said. “But power without focus is just destruction.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wow, that’s not ominous at all.”
“Take this seriously, Jewel.”
“I am.”
“You’re deflecting.”
“I’m surviving.”
Kael stopped walking.
His eyes met mine—sharp, relentless. “You’re transforming. And pretending you’re not won’t stop it.”
He threw the first strike.
A flick of his hand, and a thin arc of shadow lashed through the air like a whip.
I raised the dagger instinctively, blocking the strike—but the shadow curled around it, slicing toward my shoulder.
My mark flared.
And my palm erupted in flame.
The shadow burned away with a hiss.
I staggered back, gasping.
“You see?” Kael said. “The Flame responds to fear, to instinct. You didn’t call it. It came.”
“It felt like falling,” I breathed.
“Because you haven’t learned how to land.”
We went again.
And again.
Each time, Kael pushed harder. His movements were too fast to follow—vampire speed, he said. Enhanced reflexes. But he always pulled his attacks just short of real damage.
Not because he was being kind.
Because he wanted to see how far I’d go before I lost control.
On the fifth round, he pinned me with a shadow chain and hurled me backward.
I landed hard on the mossy stone. My elbow cracked. Pain bloomed.
And something snapped inside me.
The fire didn’t just ignite—it exploded.
My body surged with heat. A violet blaze roared from my chest like wings. The chain disintegrated. The air cracked with energy.
Kael shielded his face, boots dragging through the dirt.
I wasn’t in control.
But for a second… I didn’t want to be.
I wanted to burn everything.
The chapel. The prophecy. The fear.
The pain of not knowing who I was anymore.
Then I saw Kael’s expression.
Not fear.
Disappointment.
It hit harder than his shadow ever could.
I fell to my knees, the flames vanishing.
Smoke curled from my fingertips. My skin shimmered gold for a heartbeat—then went still.
Kael approached slowly, crouching in front of me.
“Lesson two,” he said quietly. “The fire isn’t your enemy. But it will devour everything—including you—if you let it rule.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered.
“I know.”
“But it felt…”
“Powerful,” he said.
I nodded.
He looked away. “That’s how it begins.”
I didn’t understand what he meant until hours later.
We trained until the sun reached the trees.
After that, Kael let me rest, though I could feel his eyes on me while I sat by the basin, tracing the edge of the dagger he’d given me.
It wasn’t just a weapon.
It was old—Del-ray forged, he said.
A blade made with ashwood, flame-forged iron, and a piece of crystal buried inside the hilt.
“Seraphina wielded its twin,” Kael said, sitting beside me. “Until the day she vanished.”
I looked down at the dagger. “Do you think she wanted this life?”
He shook his head. “She wanted peace.”
“So what happened?”
“She chose love. And the world made her pay for it.”
I stared at him. “You loved her.”
It wasn’t a question.
His silence said enough.
“How old are you really?”
Kael gave a soft, bitter laugh. “Too old to lie to myself. Not old enough to stop trying.”
“You don’t look—”
“I stopped aging at nineteen.”
“What happened to you two?”
I waited.
But he didn’t explain.
And I didn’t push.
Because I wasn’t ready to hear what he’d sacrificed. Not yet.
Later that evening, a wind passed through the trees that made the hairs on my arms rise.
Kael looked up from where he was sharpening another blade.
“They’re getting closer,” he murmured.
“The wolves?”
He shook his head. “No. Worse.”
“Worse than wolves?”
He stood. “The Supernatural world.”
My stomach twisted. “Why would they come for me?”
“Because word’s gotten out. Your mark’s awakened. And now… everyone wants to claim you.”
“Claim?”
“They’ll offer safety. Power. A seat at their side.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
He looked at me sharply. “And when they realize they can’t control you, they’ll try to erase you.”
I clenched the dagger.
“Then they can try.”
Kael didn’t smile.
But for a second, I saw something in his eyes—pride.
And something sadder beneath it.
That night, I stood at the edge of the broken chapel, staring at the sky.
The stars were faint. Clouded. But I could feel the world shifting around me.
The wind whispered through the trees like voices I couldn’t quite hear.
You are not the first.You will not be the last.But you are the flame reborn.
I didn’t sleep much.
When I did, I dreamed of thrones made of bone and fire, and eyes that watched me from every corner of the dark.
I dreamed of Kael kneeling before someone wearing my face.
And I dreamed of fire swallowing the world.
And me, standing at the center.
Laughing.
Kael didn’t sleep.
At dawn, I found him standing at the chapel’s edge, where the tree roots broke the earth like claws. His black coat whipped in the morning wind. He looked less like a seventeen-year-old boy and more like something sculpted from midnight and war.
“You’re early,” he said without turning.
“I didn’t sleep.”
“Good. You’ll learn faster.”
“That’s not how it works—”
He tossed something at me.
I caught it out of reflex.
A dull, curved dagger. Not silver. Not steel.
The blade shimmered gold in the light.
“Lesson one,” Kael said. “Control is earned. Not granted.”
The morning was cold, but my blood ran hotter than it should’ve.
I stood in a ring of fallen stone just outside the chapel while Kael paced around me like a warden.
“You have power,” he said. “But power without focus is just destruction.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wow, that’s not ominous at all.”
“Take this seriously, Jewel.”
“I am.”
“You’re deflecting.”
“I’m surviving.”
Kael stopped walking.
His eyes met mine—sharp, relentless. “You’re transforming. And pretending you’re not won’t stop it.”
He threw the first strike.
A flick of his hand, and a thin arc of shadow lashed through the air like a whip.
I raised the dagger instinctively, blocking the strike—but the shadow curled around it, slicing toward my shoulder.
My mark flared.
And my palm erupted in flame.
The shadow burned away with a hiss.
I staggered back, gasping.
“You see?” Kael said. “The Flame responds to fear, to instinct. You didn’t call it. It came.”
“It felt like falling,” I breathed.
“Because you haven’t learned how to land.”
We went again.
And again.
Each time, Kael pushed harder. His movements were too fast to follow—vampire speed, he said. Enhanced reflexes. But he always pulled his attacks just short of real damage.
Not because he was being kind.
Because he wanted to see how far I’d go before I lost control.
On the fifth round, he pinned me with a shadow chain and hurled me backward.
I landed hard on the mossy stone. My elbow cracked. Pain bloomed.
And something snapped inside me.
The fire didn’t just ignite—it exploded.
My body surged with heat. A violet blaze roared from my chest like wings. The chain disintegrated. The air cracked with energy.
Kael shielded his face, boots dragging through the dirt.
I wasn’t in control.
But for a second… I didn’t want to be.
I wanted to burn everything.
The chapel. The prophecy. The fear.
The pain of not knowing who I was anymore.
Then I saw Kael’s expression.
Not fear.
Disappointment.
It hit harder than his shadow ever could.
I fell to my knees, the flames vanishing.
Smoke curled from my fingertips. My skin shimmered gold for a heartbeat—then went still.
Kael approached slowly, crouching in front of me.
“Lesson two,” he said quietly. “The fire isn’t your enemy. But it will devour everything—including you—if you let it rule.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered.
“I know.”
“But it felt…”
“Powerful,” he said.
I nodded.
He looked away. “That’s how it begins.”
I didn’t understand what he meant until hours later.
We trained until the sun reached the trees.
After that, Kael let me rest, though I could feel his eyes on me while I sat by the basin, tracing the edge of the dagger he’d given me.
It wasn’t just a weapon.
It was old—Del-ray forged, he said.
A blade made with ashwood, flame-forged iron, and a piece of crystal buried inside the hilt.
“Seraphina wielded its twin,” Kael said, sitting beside me. “Until the day she vanished.”
I looked down at the dagger. “Do you think she wanted this life?”
He shook his head. “She wanted peace.”
“So what happened?”
“She chose love. And the world made her pay for it.”
I stared at him. “You loved her.”
It wasn’t a question.
His silence said enough.
“How old are you really?”
Kael gave a soft, bitter laugh. “Too old to lie to myself. Not old enough to stop trying.”
“You don’t look—”
“I stopped aging at nineteen.”
“What happened to you two?”
I waited.
But he didn’t explain.
And I didn’t push.
Because I wasn’t ready to hear what he’d sacrificed. Not yet.
Later that evening, a wind passed through the trees that made the hairs on my arms rise.
Kael looked up from where he was sharpening another blade.
“They’re getting closer,” he murmured.
“The wolves?”
He shook his head. “No. Worse.”
“Worse than wolves?”
He stood. “The Supernatural world.”
My stomach twisted. “Why would they come for me?”
“Because word’s gotten out. Your mark’s awakened. And now… everyone wants to claim you.”
“Claim?”
“They’ll offer safety. Power. A seat at their side.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
He looked at me sharply. “And when they realize they can’t control you, they’ll try to erase you.”
I clenched the dagger.
“Then they can try.”
Kael didn’t smile.
But for a second, I saw something in his eyes—pride.
And something sadder beneath it.
That night, I stood at the edge of the broken chapel, staring at the sky.
The stars were faint. Clouded. But I could feel the world shifting around me.
The wind whispered through the trees like voices I couldn’t quite hear.
You are not the first.You will not be the last.But you are the flame reborn.
I didn’t sleep much.
When I did, I dreamed of thrones made of bone and fire, and eyes that watched me from every corner of the dark.
I dreamed of Kael kneeling before someone wearing my face.
And I dreamed of fire swallowing the world.
And me, standing at the center.
Laughing.
- Writer
