Chapter 68: Ripples Beneath the Flame
The morning boardroom air was thick with tension, the kind that wrapped around your collar like a noose. Glass walls reflected the twin heirs' glaring energy back at them like a divine duel staged in marble and chrome.
Mira Thalor stood poised at the head of the long obsidian conference table, dressed in an icy blue blazer that made her look more monarch than mortal. Her silver hairpin, shaped like a lotus in bloom, shimmered with ancient grace. Her fingers tapped lightly on a crystal tablet, scrolling through quarterly forecasts.
Opposite her sat Jaxon Pyranthos, sleeves rolled, tie loose, leaning back in a way that spoke of effortless confidence and unspoken danger. The crimson crest on his lapel caught the light like a silent brand—a burning phoenix.
"So, what you're suggesting," Jaxon said, voice lazy and lethal, "is that your...gentle mergers will somehow tame a volatile industry sector in less than two quarters? Bold. Almost adorable."
Mira gave him a razor-sharp smile. "I find fire burns brightest before it consumes itself. You might want to keep your flames in check, Pyranthos."
The other board members flinched. This was more than rivalry. There was a storm of memory beneath their words, an echo neither understood.
Mira wasn't sure why his voice sparked headaches or why she sometimes dreamed of tides crashing against obsidian shores. Or why she could hear the sound of his footsteps before he even entered a room. She chalked it up to instinct. Gut. Competitive awareness. But her therapist—and her grandmother—insisted it was something deeper.
Jaxon, for his part, found himself sketching symbols in the margins of his notebook that burst into flame if left too long. He had banned open candles from his home after the second one flared high enough to scorch the ceiling.
Neither spoke about it. Yet.
---
Later that evening at Thalor Manor...
Mira sat on the rooftop garden, sipping jasmine tea, legs tucked beneath her, eyes fixed on the city skyline. Across the water, the Pyranthos Tower glowed crimson, a modern-day volcano, daring the sea to rise.
"You've been edgy all day," came a voice behind her.
Iris, her best friend and chief strategist, plopped beside her with a tub of mango sorbet.
"It's Jaxon. Again," Mira muttered. "Every time we're in the same room, I feel like...I don't know. Like there's something I should remember. Like I've fought him before."
Iris raised a brow. "You mean in business meetings, or in a past life sword duel kind of way?"
Mira didn't laugh.
"That serious?" Iris blinked. "Mira, you're the calmest person I know. You meditate with koi fish. If this guy's getting under your skin, there's either a cosmic connection or you need stronger tea."
"Maybe both."
She stared again at the distant crimson tower. Somewhere deep in her bones, the water stirred.
---
Meanwhile, in the Pyranthos ancestral library...
Jaxon sat alone in front of a massive fireplace. Books lay scattered around him, all ancient. Scrolls translated from tongues only the gods used. He kept returning to one name.
"Valeria."
He didn't know why it gave him chills.
Beside him, Ash, his mischievous younger cousin, strolled in with two steaming mugs. "Still burning the midnight oil? Or are you trying to summon your past lives again, big bro?"
Jaxon cracked a tired grin. "Wouldn't be the worst thing. Maybe then I'd know why I dream of tidal waves and blue eyes that call me home."
Ash blinked. "Dude. You need therapy. Or a girlfriend. Preferably not a water princess."
"Shut up."
---
Unseen, above both their homes...
A ripple passed through the stars. One old god stirred. Another waited.
And the balance shifted.
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