Dawn still clung to the horizon as Kaia, Darian, Seris, Lira, and Scribe Marten entered the Twilight Crossroads. The air smelled of damp earth and burning torches. Stalls lined the wide stone streets: traders sold woven fabrics, glowing herbs, and carved idols of old elemental gods. Travelers paused in doorways, glancing warily at the strangers in Ember and Shadow cuffs.
Kaia kept her hood low, but she felt the weight of curious eyes. Darian rode beside her, shoulders straight, cloak falling around him like a wave of night. Seris drifted in their wake, silent but watchful. Lira clung to Kaia's side, whispering questions that Kaia could not answer yet. And Marten trailed behind, quill poised to record anything of note.
They came to the heart of the crossroads, a wide plaza ringed with iron lanterns. Here, the border between Emberwilds and Shadow Vale was said to shift like water. Stones on one side glowed faintly orange; on the other, black veins ran through pale marble.
"This is the spot," Seris said, her voice low. She pointed to a cracked circle of obsidian set into the plaza floor. "The fissure grows here. I will enter alone."
Kaia halted. "You can't face it on your own."
Seris shook her head. "It's a test. If the shadow-forest has claimed this place, I will know its strength." She brushed her hand over the circle's edge, and a thin line of darkness curled across her fingers.
Before Kaia could object, Seris stepped forward—and vanished into the black fissure. One moment she stood before them; the next, she was swallowed by shadow.
Marten's quill froze in midair. Lira gasped. Darian's hand tightened on his reins.
Kaia's heart hammered. "Seris!" she cried.
Darkness pulsed from the fissure, then shot upward in a swirl of shadow leaves. The circle glowed fierce black. For a moment, nothing moved. Then the ground trembled.
A roar rolled through the plaza, louder than thunder. Kaia stumbled back as the stone cracked, veins of ember and shadow fracturing the circle. From the rip in the earth crawled a creature twice the size of a man. Its body was molten rock and flowing darkness—glowing orange cracks raced across blackened skin. Wings of smoke curled from its back. Its head, horned and beast-like, swung toward them.
The flame-wyrm.
Kaia raised her hands. Heat bloomed at her fingertips. Darian leapt from his horse, shadow swirling around his boots. Lira shrank behind Kaia. Marten lifted his scroll but seemed unable to write.
The wyrm reared. Magma dripped from its jaws. Its eyes burned with hatred. It lunged forward, claws raking the plaza's stones.
Kaia let loose a jet of flame. The blast hit the creature's chest, carving a sizzling scar. But the wyrm recoiled only briefly before it surged forward again, faster and angrier.
Darian's cloak snapped open. In a single motion, he drew darkness up around his arms like living chains and flung them at the wyrm. The shadows wrapped around one leg, yanking the beast off balance. Rocks tumbled under its weight, showering sparks into the air.
Kaia pressed her palm to the ground. She could feel the old magic humming beneath the plaza. With a deep breath, she summoned a circle of fire at her feet. The flames shot up in a ring around the wyrm, forcing it to step back.
The creature roared, smoke billowing from its mouth. It pawed at the fire, but the flames did not falter. Kaia felt sweat bead on her brow. She dared a glance at Darian: his shadows tightened, squeezing the wyrm's leg like a vise.
"Now!" Darian called.
Kaia nodded and unleashed a burst of ember-laced flame in one smooth arc. It struck the wyrm's wing, tearing a chunk of molten flesh away. The beast screamed, its roar shaking every pillar in the plaza.
Before Darian could press his advantage, the wyrm whirled with surprising speed. It snapped at him, claws raking across the shadow chains. Darkness hissed and retreated, loosening its grip. Darian stumbled backward, face set in a hard line.
Kaia dashed forward, shoving Lira behind her. She brought her fists together, a glowing orb of fire forming between her palms. She lunged at the wyrm's head—raw courage guiding her—but the creature was too fast. It ducked its horned skull and rammed Kaia in the chest, sending her flying into a row of market stalls.
Wood splintered as Kaia crashed through. She slid across broken crates and lay dazed for a moment, stars dancing behind her eyelids. A mix of herbs and spices rained upon her from overturned carts. She coughed, struggling to push herself up.
A powerful shadow hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her backward. Kaia slammed onto rough stone. Darkness coiled around her, cold and heavy. Panic rose in her chest.
"Kaia!" Darian's voice cut through the haze.
With one last surge of will, Kaia gathered her dwindling strength. She concentrated on heat—on every memory of her forge's warmth—and pushed back against the shadow's grip. Her cuffs flared bright orange, warming the chains that bound her ankle. The shadow recoiled with a hiss, letting go.
Kaia scrambled to her feet. She limped toward the wyrm, every breath a ragged gasp. The beast pawed at Darian, who had risen and circled to its side.
Darian caught Kaia's eye. For a brief moment, she saw something in his expression—concern, maybe. Then he was gone, melding into the plaza's shadows to strike again.
With Darian's distraction, Kaia's fire soared. She focused on the spot where the wyrm's chest met its front leg—the place Darian's chains had wrapped earlier. She cast a cone of flame that burned through skin and sinew. The creature howled, stumbling in pain.
From Kaia's pocket, Lira's small hand emerged, holding a curved dagger. It was one of Kaia's own tools, given to Lira for protection. "Use this," Lira whispered fiercely. "Hit it here," she pointed at a glowing shard embedded in the wyrm's shoulder.
Kaia nodded, heart swelling with gratitude. She hurled herself forward, seizing the dagger as though staking her own life on it. With a roar, she plunged the blade into the wyrm's shoulder. The shard cracked, and the creature staggered.
Darian reappeared, shadow blades dancing in his hands. He brought one down in a sweeping arc, slicing through hardened obsidian like clay. The wyrm let out a final, echoing cry as its form melted inward, collapsing into a pile of dark ash and glowing embers.
Silence fell. The air felt empty without the wyrm's roar. Kaia sank to her knees, panting. Ash drifted around them in slow spirals. Darian stood a few steps away, shadow veil closing behind him.
Kaia tore the dagger free and examined it. Embedded in the broken obsidian shard was a crest—a black eagle clutching a torch in its talons. She stared at it, mind racing.
"Where did that come from?" she gasped, voice rough.
Darian's brow furrowed. He stepped closer and plucked the shard from her hand. "That crest belongs to my house," he said quietly. "My family's symbol."
Kaia's chest tightened. "Why would it be on a corrupted wyrm?"
Darian's eyes flicked to the plaza's edge, where the fissure had sealed itself. "Vorick's hand runs deeper than we thought," he said, voice tight. "My family may be involved."
Kaia stared at him, words caught in her throat. In every tale she'd heard, Darian Ebonhart was an enemy—his shadow legions had crushed her home, sent her father to the ground. Now she held proof that his own blood might have betrayed them both.
A distant shout shattered the moment. A figure staggered into the plaza, face pale and eyes wide. It was Marten, clutching his scroll.
"The Council sends word," he panted. "They want a full report… immediately."
Darian's jaw clenched. He threw the shard into Kaia's hands. "Keep this safe," he said. "We'll need it when we question the council."
Kaia nodded, tucking the shard into her belt. She looked at Darian, then at the empty space where the wyrm had fallen. The weight of their journey pressed on her: they were bound by law and magic, but also by fear, suspicion, and now a shared mystery.
A cold breeze drifted through the crossroads. The iron lanterns flickered and died, plunging the plaza into gray dawn light.
Kaia planted her feet firmly. "We move on," she said, voice steady.
Darian inclined his head. "We move on."
As they gathered their things, Kaia realized the truth: from this moment on, neither of them could trust the other—and neither could walk away.
And far above, in the shifting weave of flame and shadow, she felt the
stir of something darker—something that would test their bond in ways neither could imagine.