The rebel forge roared to life before the sun had crested the horizon. Hammers struck iron in rhythm. Sparks flew like stardust. For the first time in decades, weapons were being made not for kings, but for commoners.
Elira stood at the edge of it all, wrapped in a woolen cloak that did little to mute the fire humming under her skin. Auren joined her, now dressed not as a prince, but as a soldier—one who had chosen his side.
> "You're becoming their symbol," he said, watching the others glance her way with reverence.
Elira shook her head. "I don't want to be a symbol."
Auren's voice was quiet. "Symbols don't get to choose. But you can choose what you stand for."
She stared into the flame of the forge, and something inside her—old, buried, waiting—stirred.
---
Far from the camp, in the silver halls of the palace, Seraphine met with the Royal Inquisitors. They were tall, masked figures draped in crimson, their presence chilling even the most hardened councilmen.
> "The rebellion festers," Seraphine said, pacing before a map marked in ink and ash. "And the girl walks with fire."
The lead Inquisitor tilted his head. "Then we shall bring her flame to heel."
> "No," Seraphine snapped. "We must not destroy her—yet. We must make the people fear her first."
> "How?" he asked.
She smiled thinly. "We burn a village. And we blame the Flameborn."
---
Back in the rebel camp, Garran returned from a scouting run—his horse lathered, his face pale.
> "They struck," he growled. "Ashvale is gone. Burned to the ground. Survivors say they saw a girl with fire in her hands."
Gasps echoed. Eyes turned to Elira.
> "It wasn't me," she said, stepping forward. "I've been here. You all saw me."
But the fear was already growing.
> "They're framing you," Auren said under his breath.
> "No," Elira whispered. "They're testing me."
She turned to Garran.
> "How many were killed?"
> "Dozens. Children too."
The fire in Elira's blood surged. She raised her hand, and for the first time, flames curled from her fingertips in perfect, terrible control.
> "Then let the Crown feel what it means to fear a Flameborn."