Chapter 5 When the fire sleeps

By the time they reached the foothills of the Ravenclaw Peaks, the air had changed-colder, thinner, touched by frost and the silence of old gods. The mountains were gray teeth on the horizon, sharp and still. Kael had seen them in maps, in dreams-but never like this.

Elira pulled her cloak tighter. "There's a pass near the northern ridge. It's hidden, but it'll lead us to the Vault."

Kael nodded. He didn't need to ask what was inside. If she said the Vault held answers, he believed her. The way he believed in the feel of steel in his hand, or the ache of his curse when danger was near.

They moved fast, picking their way over loose stones and roots. Elira's breath steamed in the morning air, her fingers pink from cold, but her steps never faltered. She belonged to this wilderness in a way Kael never would.

"Stop," she whispered suddenly, crouching low. Kael followed her lead.

Voices drifted on the wind-low, guttural. Not human.

Two figures emerged from the rocks-tall, cloaked, weapons at their sides. Their skin was ash-colored, their eyes a dull crimson. Woken thralls.

Kael's hand went to his blade. Elira touched his wrist.

"No blood. Not if we can help it."

He gave a small nod, then melted into the shadows as she moved the opposite way-silent, quick, like wind between cracks. One thrall stepped too close. Kael grabbed him, arm over the mouth, blade sliding up under the ribs. Quick, quiet. The body dropped.

Elira had taken the other one-no blade, just a pressure point, a twist of limbs. She looked at Kael. "Still got it."

He gave a tired grin. "You're terrifying."

They pressed on.

By nightfall, they reached the pass-narrow and jagged, carved by time and wind. Elira ran her fingers along the stone. "This is it. Behind these cliffs... the Vault of Ashes."

Kael stared at the narrow slit in the rock. "Doesn't look like much."

"It's not meant to." She stepped through.

Inside, the temperature dropped. The stone walls were etched with old symbols-marks older than the kingdom itself. The air smelled of dust and memory.

They lit a torch and moved deeper, down spiraled stairs and through broken archways. Each step echoed like a warning.

Kael kept his hand near his sword. The curse burned faintly in his veins.

They reached the central chamber-a domed room with no ceiling, open to the stars. In the center stood a pedestal of black stone. A single object rested on top-a shard of something once whole. Crystal? Bone? It shimmered faintly.

Elira stepped forward, breath catching.

"What is it?" Kael asked.

"My mother's key," she said softly. "The last piece she stole before she died. It opens the gate beneath the mountain-the gate to the first flame."

Kael stared at the shard. "Is that what we're here for?"

Elira nodded. "It's the only thing that can burn out the curse in you."

He blinked. "You knew?"

"I've always known." She stepped closer. "But it comes at a cost."

Kael looked at her. "Whose?"

She didn't answer.

Something shifted above them-stone grinding on stone. Kael spun, blade out. A shadow dropped from the ledge-a Woken knight, armor black as pitch, eyes glowing gold.

Elira whispered a warding spell, light flaring from her palms.

The knight struck.

Kael blocked just in time, their blades ringing through the chamber. Sparks flew. He moved on instinct-fast, precise. But the knight was stronger, faster-inhuman.

"Elira-go!" he shouted.

"I'm not leaving you!"

The knight knocked Kael back, his blade flying from his grip. The curse surged, dark tendrils crawling up his arm. Pain exploded in his chest.

Elira screamed his name.

Kael reached deep-past fear, past pain-and grabbed the shard.

Flame roared through him. White, pure, searing. The curse recoiled-shrieked inside him-and began to burn away.

The knight staggered.

Kael rose, glowing from within. The cursed markings on his arm turned to ash and fell away.

He moved like fire.

One strike-true, final-cleaved the knight in two.

Silence fell.

Elira rushed to him, eyes wide. "You-Kael, your arm-"

He looked down. Smooth skin. The curse was gone.

"I felt her," he whispered. "Your mother. She was in the shard."

Elira nodded slowly. "She left it behind for someone strong enough to finish what she couldn't."

Their eyes met.

For a long moment, nothing else mattered.