Chapter 4 Fire at the Door

Nyxira POV

I didn't breathe for a long time.

The note was still in my hand. My fingers had gone cold around it.

They're coming for you at dawn.

I read it again.

And again.

My eyes kept drifting to the window. The sky was dark blue now, almost morning. But no light touched the horizon yet. Just that wind. That sound. And the horn.

What kind of horn sounded like that?

Not human.

Not welcome.

I stepped back from the glass.

The crystal on the windowsill had gone dark again-no glow, no heat. But it still pulled at me. Like it wanted to be held again.

I didn't touch it this time.

I stuffed the note into the pocket of my cloak and grabbed my boots. My hands were shaking. I didn't know where to go. Who to trust. Maybe no one.

I opened the door slowly.

The hall was empty. Too empty.

Usually, someone was always around. Even at night. A ghost, a vampire, a fae. Magic buzzed through these walls like it had a heartbeat.

But now it was silent.

Dead silent.

I stepped out. Closed the door behind me without a sound. My boots barely touched the ground. The mark on my palm burned hotter with each step.

It was leading me.

Down.

To where the earth was older.

I didn't question it. Not anymore.

I moved fast through the halls. Past the common rooms. Past the stairwells. I passed a mirror-and didn't look. I was afraid of what might be staring back.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps.

Coming fast.

From behind.

I ran.

My heart pounded in my throat. I didn't look back. Just ran.

I turned a corner-and slammed into someone.

Hands caught me before I could fall.

"Nyxira!"

It was Zeryn.

He looked as tense as I felt. His chest rose and fell hard. His gold eyes were sharp, alert.

"I heard the horn," he said. "What's going on?"

I opened my mouth-but the ground shook before I could speak.

Just a little. Like a warning.

Then came the sound.

A crash. Far off. Deep and heavy. Like a wall had fallen.

Then a scream.

Zeryn pulled me close. "We need to move."

"Where?"

"Out of the open. Come on."

We ran.

Not toward the dorms.

But toward the old hallways. The forgotten ones.

Past doors with locks older than names.

Zeryn didn't explain how he knew the way. He just did. Like the stone whispered to him. He pushed open a low wooden door near the base of the west tower.

Inside, it was dark.

He grabbed a torch from the wall and lit it with a match from his belt. The flame flickered gold. Shadows danced on the stone.

We kept moving.

I finally spoke. "There was a note. Someone left it. Said they're coming for me at dawn."

Zeryn didn't look surprised.

"Yeah," he said. "I figured."

"Why?"

"Because that wasn't just any spell you broke in the bloodline test."

He glanced back at me.

"You cracked a binding circle. And the binding wasn't for you. It was on the school."

"What does that mean?"

"It means something felt it break. Something outside. Something old."

He stopped walking.

We stood before another door.

But this one was made of black stone.

It had no handle.

Just carvings.

Symbols that pulsed when my hand got close.

The mark on my palm burned again. Like fire trapped under my skin.

"This is the only place I know that might keep you safe," Zeryn said quietly. "For a little while."

"Where does it go?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure."

I looked at him.

"You brought me to a door you've never opened?"

He gave a small smile. "Welcome to Ashmourne."

I didn't want to laugh-but something about it made me let out a shaky breath.

I reached out.

My fingers touched the carvings.

They glowed white.

The door opened.

Without a sound.

Inside was nothing but black.

A stairwell. Going down.

I looked at Zeryn. He nodded once.

And we stepped in.

The moment we crossed the threshold, the door closed behind us.

No latch. No lock. It just sealed.

We were alone.

Just the torch. Just the dark.

We walked down in silence. My footsteps echoed off the walls. After a while, even the air changed. Colder. Older.

Then I saw it.

Light.

Not from the torch.

From below.

A room opened at the bottom of the stairs. Round, wide, and covered in roots. Stone walls lined with runes that shimmered faintly.

And in the center-a pool of silver water.

It was still. Too still. Like time didn't touch it.

Zeryn knelt beside it. He dipped his fingers in.

The water didn't ripple.

I stayed back. My mark throbbed like it wanted to jump out of my skin.

"This place isn't just old," Zeryn said softly. "It's before magic."

I swallowed hard.

Then the water glowed.

A shape rose from it.

A woman. Made of light and mist. She didn't speak. She only looked at me.

Her face shifted between forms. Human. Dragon. Flame. Then back again.

I stepped forward, drawn by something I couldn't name.

The woman raised her hand-and pointed behind me.

I turned.

A stone wall lit up.

More symbols.

But this time, they were words.

I read them slowly.

Born in fire, hidden by stone.

Blood of flame, soul unknown.

When the sky turns red and the wind carries ash,

The one who wakes must choose their path.

I shivered.

Then a voice-not the woman's-spoke from behind me.

"You were never meant to survive the Trials."

I spun.

Darian stood at the base of the stairs.

Cloak still dark as smoke. Eyes like winter.

Zeryn was already moving. Between me and Darian. Hands raised.

Darian didn't flinch.

"I didn't come to fight," he said. "I came to warn her."

"Warn me about what?" I asked.

Darian's eyes met mine.

"The hunters are already inside the gates," he said. "They're not teachers. Not students. They're old. Like what you saw in the crystal."

"You gave me that crystal."

"Yes," he said. "And it showed you who you are."

"No," I said. "It showed me who I was."

He shook his head. "The past isn't gone, Nyxira. It's waiting."

Zeryn stepped forward. "If you knew this was coming, why didn't you stop it?"

Darian's voice was cold. "Because I didn't cause it. She did."

I froze.

"No," Zeryn said. "She didn't ask for any of this."

"She awoke the mark," Darian said. "She cracked the circle. She stirred the flame. And now it's coming for her."

He turned to me again.

"You have one chance," he said. "One path."

"What is it?"

Darian looked at the pool. "You have to remember."

"Remember what?"

His next words were barely a whisper.

"Who you were before you were born."

Before I could speak again, the ground shook harder.

Not a warning this time.

A quake.

Roots cracked. Stones fell from the ceiling. The water surged.

Zeryn grabbed my arm. "We have to get out of here!"

"No," Darian said. "She has to choose. Now."

"Choose what?"

Then, from the ceiling above us-something screamed.

Not human.

Not vampire.

Not fae.

Something with wings.

And fire.

And hunger.

It was here.

A crack split the wall behind us.

Light poured through it-blinding, red-gold light.

And I saw it.

A single, glowing eye.

Watching me.

Waiting.

Zeryn grabbed my hand.

Darian pointed to the pool.

"Jump," he said.

"But-"

"It's the only way to survive."

The crack widened.

The scream came again.

Closer.

Hotter.

The mark on my palm blazed.

And then-

I ran.

Toward the pool.

Toward the light.

Toward the fire.

And I jumped.

The last thing I heard before the world vanished-was Zeryn's voice behind me.

"I'm coming too."