The moon hung low over the palace, bleeding silver into the corridors where shadows whispered secrets too old for daylight. Elara stood on the threshold of her chambers, newly embroidered silks brushing against her ankles a gift from the Empress, or a chain disguised as favor.
Behind her, the door creaked shut with a soft click. She was alone. Or so she thought.
"You're not wearing the necklace," M. said, emerging from the shadows as if he'd always belonged there.
Elara didn't flinch. She was learning.
"It's not a gift. It's a leash," she replied.
"The Empress wants loyalty that shines from the outside in."
M. nodded, pleased.
"Then you're seeing clearly."
She turned to face him fully. "Why did the stone choose me?"
He studied her a long moment. "Because it remembers."
"Remembers what?"
"A girl who once stood at the edge of a dying empire and held fire in her hands."
Elara felt it then a pulse from within. Not from the stone hidden beneath her floorboards, but from her own chest. As if her soul had answered.
M. stepped closer. "The flame isn't just in the stone. It's in you. It always has been."
She lowered her gaze. "Then why do I feel so... small?"
"Because true power doesn't roar. It waits. It watches. And when the moment is right it burns."
A knock shattered the moment.
They froze.
A guard's voice filtered through the door. "The Empress requests your presence in the Hall of Echoes. Immediately."
Elara exchanged a glance with M.
"Go," he said. "But remember whatever you say in that hall, the walls will remember. And so will she."
The Hall of Echoes was older than the palace itself. Carved from blackstone and laced with veins of silver, it hummed beneath her feet. Legends said it amplified truth... and twisted lies.
The Empress sat atop her throne like a statue carved from moonlight and steel. Around her, nobles watched with masks of indifference, their eyes gleaming with questions.
"Elara," the Empress purred. "My Flamebearer. You've awakened something ancient. The court trembles, not in fear but anticipation."
Elara bowed, careful not to let her voice shake.
"You summoned me, Your Majesty."
The Empress smiled, all teeth. "I offer you a choice. Stay here as my ward pampered, protected, elevated. Or take your fire beyond these walls, into a world that would devour you."
A murmur rippled through the chamber.
Elara looked around. Eyes met hers some curious, others wary. But a few... a few were wide with wonder. With hope.
She straightened. "Then I choose to burn."
Gasps echoed. Even the Hall seemed to still.
The Empress' smile faltered, just for a heartbeat. Then she laughed. "So be it. Let the court witness it. The Flamebearer chooses fire."
But as Elara turned to leave, she caught sight of something in the shadows. A girl, no older than ten, tucked behind a column. Eyes wide. Mouth parted in awe.
And Elara realized this wasn't just her story anymore.
It had begun to spread.
It had begun to matter.