Elira didn't ask to be alone but Ravion vanished the moment they returned from the court.
No explanation. No goodbye.
Just a flicker of shadow at her side and then... nothing typical.
She sat by the arched window of her chamber, watching the lava rivers far below pulse like veins in a dying god. Her palm still itched with the mark, her thoughts burned hotter.
A beacon, he'd said.
She hadn't asked to be found or claimed or to be summoned anything but help or safety from evrything she was running from.
Now she was stuck in a world that breathed fire and bled stars, bonded to a devil who looked at her like she was both puzzle and prize.
And somewhere, out there... someone wanted her gone.
Knock. Knock.
Elira blinked.
The sound had been soft too soft and almost polite and polite didn't exist in the Ninth Flame.
She rose slowly from where she'd crouched, heart thudding against her ribs. The room was dark. She hadn't lit it yet, hadn't even moved since her arrival. Shadows clung to every corner, thick and restless.
Then came the knock again. A breath of a sound. She slowly reached to the door, her hand hovering above the handle.
A voice. Muffled, familiar, "Elira?"
Her blood turned to ice.
No. It couldn't be.
"Elira, it's me. Open up."
Human. The kind of voice that lived in the bones long after even memory tried to let it go.
Kael.
Her body moved before thought could catch up. She yanked the door open.And there he was.
Kael her kael.
His ash-brown hair had grown longer, swept back but untamed, a little like him. His cloak hung in tatters, stained with dust and smoke. But his eyes—Gods, his eyes.
Still that same warm hazel, still ringed with weariness and wonder. Still filled with her.The boy she once loved or Maybe still do.
"Kael," she breathed. "What in the name of the burning stars are you doing here?"
He exhaled like he hadn't breathed since the day she disappeared. "I came to find you."
Her stomach twisted. "You shouldn't be here. You don't belong in this realm."
"I followed the blood," he said, stepping forward.
She stared. "What?"
"When they exiled you…" his voice broke, rougher now. "I tried to stop them, you didn't see—they locked me up. But after they sent you away, I searche for you and i never stopped."
She opened her mouth, but no words came. The Ninth Flame didn't allow softness. Not hope. And certainly not Kael.
But there he stood anyway, defying the worlds.
Her head spun. "That was months ago."
"I used the same spellbook you did," he admitted, stepping inside. "It took time but I found the altar, i offered blood and the flame answered."
"No." She backed up. "It's too dangerous you shouldn't have touched that magic."
"I had to." His voice cracked, "I thought I'd lost you and when I heard what they did what they called you i knew it was a lie. You would never betray us."
Tears stung her eyes before she could stop them, but she wasn't the girl who'd left.
"I didn't betray them," she said. "I just broke their rules."
"I know." He stepped closer,"And I don't care what you did, i just want you safe."
Before she could speak, the shadows in the corner of the room snapped and twisted.
Ravion appeared.
No warning. No sound.
Just heat.
And fury.
His eyes locked onto Kael like a beast scenting prey.
"Step away from her," Ravion said, voice low and lethal.
Kael turned, instincts flaring. "You must be the one who bound her."
Ravion's grin was slow and sharp. "I am the one she called."
"She didn't call you, she begged for help and you took advantage of that."
Ravion tilted his head "And you think you're the better option? You bring your fragile mortal heart here and what expect her to run back to the life that betrayed her?"
"This isn't your realm," Kael snapped. "It's hers now."
"You think so?" Ravion's eyes flashed. "You're standing in my fire boy, careful you don't burn."
Elira stepped between them.
"Stop. Both of you."
The room pulsed with magic.
Ravion's gaze flicked to her quiet now but still simmering.
Kael took her hands, "Elira, you don't have to stay here ,come with me we can go back. We can fix this."
Her heart cracked.
Because once, she would have said yes.
But now?
Now she was bound to fire and flame and a devil who looked at her like she was the only spark in a dying world.
"I can't go back," she whispered. "There's nothing left for me there."
Kael's expression shattered.
"Elira…"
She pulled her hands free.
"I'm sorry."
He looked at her truly looked and then at Ravion.
"You'll regret this," he said, "He'll destroy you."
Ravion's smile never touched his eyes "Maybe but she'll burn with me willingly."
Kael disappeared into shadow, the same way he came.
The room fell silent.
Elira stood there, breathing hard, hands trembling.
Ravion didn't move ,just watched her with a look she couldn't name.
"I should hate you," she said.
"You will," he replied, "But not yet."