Chapter 5 The Council of Embers

Selena sat in the heart of the throne chamber, her body draped in crimson silks edged with gold. A deep fire-glow lit the obsidian walls, casting flickering shadows across the room. Behind her, the throne of the Dragon King stood tall-massive, carved from molten rock, etched with flame-shaped sigils that pulsed in rhythm with her mark.

But she wasn't sitting in it.

Not yet.

Before her, twelve hooded figures formed a crescent-members of the ancient Council of Embers. Each one represented a different realm within the Dragon Dominion, and none of them were smiling.

"You expect us to welcome a wolf into our sacred lineage?" hissed one of them-an old male with flame-colored eyes and ash-gray skin.

"She's not just a wolf," Thorne said, standing beside Selena. "She's Flamebound."

"Prophecies," scoffed another. "Whispers and riddles."

Selena sat straighter. "I didn't ask for your approval."

The room fell silent.

Selena's voice was calm but clear. "I survived my rejection. I faced the Trial of Flame. I fought the Wraithspawn, and I'm still standing. If that's not enough for you, then maybe your thrones are more fragile than mine."

Gasps echoed through the chamber. Thorne's mouth twitched at the corner.

The eldest councilor, a woman with ruby-horned temples and molten eyes, finally spoke. "You wield the dagger of Ember. The fire recognizes you. So we will watch. But should you fall to the darkness-"

"She won't," Thorne interrupted.

Selena felt his presence steady at her side-unshakable, like a mountain behind her.

"Then we adjourn," said the elder. "For now."

---

Outside the council chamber, Selena paced across the stone corridor, trying to steady her breathing. Thorne leaned against a pillar, watching her.

"I wasn't expecting applause," she muttered, "but I didn't think they'd look at me like I was a ticking bomb."

"You are," Thorne said, not unkindly. "But that's exactly why they should fear you."

Selena rubbed her hands together. "I'm not trying to scare people."

"You don't need to try," he said. "You just need to be. Let them wonder what you'll become."

Her lips curled faintly. "Is that what you did when you took the throne?"

He gave a slow nod. "And it kept the realms from tearing each other apart."

She tilted her head at him. "How did you even become the Dragon King?"

A flicker of something passed across his face-pain, maybe. Regret.

"I killed the last one."

Selena blinked.

Thorne didn't elaborate.

"Remind me not to cross you," she murmured.

He looked at her then-really looked. "Cross me, Selena. Challenge me. I'd rather walk beside fire than shadows."

---

Later that day, Seraya found Selena in the crystal garden-an eerie and beautiful place where fire-blooms glowed atop glass-like vines.

"You handled the council better than most dragons," she said, handing Selena a small vial of golden liquid. "For the aches."

Selena took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks. My head's been pounding since I stepped in there."

Seraya studied her. "You're changing. The mark isn't just unlocking your magic-it's rewriting parts of you."

Selena frowned. "Rewriting?"

"Your blood. Your instincts. You're becoming something... more."

Selena looked at her hands. They were still hers, but the way they pulsed with quiet flame felt otherworldly.

"Is that why I've been dreaming?"

"Dreaming?" Seraya's eyes narrowed.

Selena hesitated. "Visions. Places I've never been. A forest. A mirror that bleeds light. And... a voice calling me."

Seraya looked deeply unsettled.

"That's the Veil."

"The what?"

"The barrier between this world and the one you came from. It's thinning."

Selena's throat tightened. "So the Wraithspawn... they didn't just find me. The Veil is falling."

"Yes," Seraya said. "And when it does, the world you left behind will collide with the one you now rule."

---

That night, Selena stood before an ancient mirror in her chamber-the same one from her dream. The frame was carved with dragons, and the surface shimmered like water.

Her fingers hovered inches from the glass.

And then, it changed.

No longer her reflection-but a vision.

She saw the pack that had cast her out.

Kael, standing tall on the ridge of the Silverfang compound, barking orders.

And then, something that made her heart skip:

A girl, younger than Selena, shackled to a post. Her hair tangled. Her face bruised.

Her sister.

"No," Selena breathed. "Saria..."

The mirror shifted again-to Kael kneeling before a dark-robed figure whose face was hidden.

"You were right," Kael said. "She awakened. But she's not the omega we thought. She's something else."

The hooded figure's voice was distorted, like wind and death woven together.

"Then she must be destroyed before she remembers everything."

The mirror shattered.

Selena stumbled back, her breath ragged.

They knew.

Not just that she was alive-but that she was remembering.

And they had Saria.

She turned, marching from the chamber.

---

Selena found Thorne alone in the map room, studying a glowing chart of shifting realms.

"We need to go back," she said, voice sharp.

He didn't look up. "To the wolf lands?"

"They have my sister. Kael's working with someone-something dark. I saw it in the mirror."

Thorne's jaw clenched. "It's too soon. You haven't finished your training."

"I don't care," Selena snapped. "She's the only family I have."

Silence.

Then he stepped toward her. "If we go back, it won't be as allies. You'll be hunted. Feared."

"I already am," she said. "But I'm not running anymore."

Thorne stared at her for a long moment-then nodded.

"Then we leave at dawn."