NOVEL WEB Chapter 22: The Fire That Wasn’t His
The palace never slept.
Even when candles dimmed and corridors emptied, whispers lingered—cloaked footsteps too light for guards to hear.
Aaron awoke with a pressure in his chest—not fear, not pain, but something else.
A wrongness.
He rose, a faint blue flame kindling in his palm, and opened the door to the outer hall.
A man stood there.
Not soldier. Not servant.
A figure in red robes, face hidden, hands wreathed in crimson fire that twisted unnaturally—unlike Aaron's blue, this flame shrieked without sound.
> "Aaron Hotveil," the man hissed. "Your fire does not belong here."
Aaron stepped back slowly.
> "Neither does yours."
The man lunged.
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🔥 Clash of Fires
Flame met flame.
But the heat was different.
Aaron's fire remembered—it moved with precision, emotion, memory. The assassin's fire devoured—empty, chaotic.
The corridor flared with eerie colors. A painting ignited. Marble cracked.
Aaron dodged a blast, rolled beneath a burning table, and slammed his palm to the floor. Blue flame surged through the tiles, erupting beneath the assassin's feet.
The man screamed as memories seared into him.
> "Your fire… speaks…" he gasped.
Then he exploded into ash.
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🕯️ After the Attack
Guards arrived too late.
But someone else came first.
A woman in Council robes, mask dangling from one hand. Her gray eyes were sharp and unblinking.
> "They sent one of the Red Flame cultists," she said.
Aaron studied her.
> "And you just happened to be here?"
She ignored the question.
> "You're not safe—not even behind the Council's walls. Some want your fire silenced. Others… want to use it."
> "And you?" he asked.
She smiled faintly.
> "I want to see if you're more than fire."
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🤝 The Offer
That night, she returned. Alone. In secret.
She carried a sealed envelope.
> "This is not from the Council. This is from me."
Aaron opened it.
Inside: a map. A name. A symbol—half Skyborn, half Eldemar.
> "I want to talk," she said. "But not here. Midnight. No guards. No questions."
> "Why should I trust you?" he asked.
> "You shouldn't," she replied. "But I saw how your fire moved tonight… and I believe you're not here to serve."
> "You're here to choose."