Chapter 5 Waking the Fire

Mira's POV

Before light, there was pain.

It wasn't the jagged kind from blades or poison. It was deep-like fire licking every inch of muscle, bone, and breath as it crawled beneath my skin. My body no longer felt broken, but it also no longer felt like mine. It felt like it had been reforged.

I heard birds calling from a great distance when I opened my eyes. Tall trees with silvery leaves that glistened with gentle blue light let a glimpse of the sky. I blinked as I gradually raised myself off the soggy grass.

I had ripped and dirt-stained clothes. I had my arms bare. And then there were glowing marks-wound around my wrists, up to my shoulders-scrolling across my skin like lightning struck flesh. I was able to understand symbols that I was unfamiliar with.

The Tree of Moon root. The descent. The dagger-wielding man.

Suddenly, the memory came flooding back. My heart was pounding as I gasped and looked around.

I was no longer in the clearing.

Moon shade Forest was where I was.

It was believed that ancient spirits slept there. A place that frightened wolves. It was a place that only people with cursed blood could enter. I hadn't walked here, though.

I had come from the forest.

I made contact with the ground below. The temperature was warm. In response, the marks on my arms pulsed.

There was a change.

Not only in the world.

within me.

I was more perceptive. I could feel the footsteps of distant animals and hear the wind rustling leaves. Fear didn't make my heart race. It beat steadily, powerfully. steady as a war parade drum.

I sensed something else beneath the strength, though.

a deep scar on my chest. A burn. From the truth, not from fire.

They had deceived me.

Not merely poisoned, not merely discarded-but intentionally broken.

And now I was a different person.

I turned and stood slowly, listening to the forest. It spoke to me in a whisper of its own. Not in words, but in shadow and sound pulses.

Quietly, a deer moved behind a tree.

A bird flew by fearlessly.

And a wolf watched me from a nearby location.

I didn't run.

When I moved forward, the forest shifted as if it recognized my presence.

My inner fire flared up once more.

There was something wild in every breath I took. No magic. Not anger.

Strength.

Over the trees, something moved. A flicker. A shadow.

I raised my head.

A thin, red mark that resembled a tear in the clouds was visible in the sky.

Moreover, it was spreading.

I knew it had to do with the gate, but I had no idea what it meant. With what the damned man let loose. I recalled the claws emerging from the earthen fissure. The thing attempting to escape.

And I recalled the voice that warned me that I couldn't escape myself.

Perhaps I couldn't.

Perhaps it wasn't my destiny.

The silver fire glowed across my fingers as I clenched my fists.

I had finished my run.

The forest changed before I could move another step. The air grew cold, the light dimmed, and the shadows grew thicker.

Someone moved out from among the trees.

I gasped.

Dane was the one.

No armor. Not a guard. Only him.

His eyes were darker than I remembered, and his face was thinner than before. I could feel his wolf clawing, hovering just beneath his skin.

Like he had seen a ghost, he gazed at me.

His voice was raw as he said, "Mira." "You're still here."

I remained silent.

I remained motionless.

He moved forward slowly. "I considered... I believed you to be deceased.

I cocked my head. "You ensured that I would be."

He briefly closed his eyes. "No. I didn't-

I said sharply, "Don't lie," and the trees shook with the force of my voice.

There was no mask when he opened his eyes again. Only guilt.

"I erred."

I muttered, "You didn't make a mistake." "You made a decision."

We remained silent. Between us are a thousand unspoken truths.

He finally stated, "I didn't come to fight."

"So, what brings you here?"

He took a deep swallow. "Because the curse is getting worse." due to the forest's demise. Additionally, I need your assistance because I

I tightened my lips as I gazed at him.

With a fire burning in my chest, I said, "You need the woman you broke." "The weak mate you left to rot is what you need."

"No," he muttered. "I need the wolf you've turned into and the fire you buried."

The sky above shattered with sound before I could say another word.

Lightning-free thunder.

Then a scream-not a wolf, not a human-came from deep in the forest.

Something halfway.

There's a problem.

Both of us turned to the sound.

And something huge moved through the trees from the shadows.

Tall and twisted.

I was wearing a familiar face.

My breath left me in a chilly gasp as the creature came into view.

It shared Dane's height, his thick, black hair, and even the sharp curve of his jaw. Its skin, however, was ash-gray and tightly stretched over bone. Its face had split wide with cracks, looking red like lava and bleeding smoke, but one side was unharmed-familiar.

It didn't have his eyes.

I owned them.

Burning silver, rage-filled.

I stumbled back.

Beside me, Dane let out a low growl as his body partially transformed into a wolf. "What is that?"

"I'm not sure," I muttered. In my heart, though, I did.

Everything I lost went into making this.

I buried everything.

Slowly and steadily, it took a step forward before opening its mouth.

My own voice then emerged.

"You abandoned me."

I went cold.

The creature's gaze met mine.

It repeated, "You let me die," each word exploding with agony.

"No," I muttered. "You're not real."

It cocked its head. "I am what you chose not to be."

Then, like mine, its hands blazed with a silver flame.

However, it was twisted. Furious. I'm hungry.

Dane moved in front of us. "Come back, Mira."

"No," I said, taking a step forward as my own fire increased.

The forest behind the monster erupted in flames as it raised its hand.

Trees cried out. The leaves twisted.

More shadows emerged from the fire, some with eyes like mine, others with beastly fangs.

The first one gestured toward me.

"The key is you."

*One says Mira is the key to the curse, and she must contend with a flaming army that was born out of her own suffering. However, what precisely does she unlock? and what occurs if they fully expose her?