Flamewatch Hold was a skeleton of its former self—walls shattered, stone blackened by fire, and banners long since rotted away. Yet as Kael walked through the broken archway, he felt something deep beneath the ruin stirring… like embers waiting to be fed.
Mira cleared away the moss from a flat slab of stone and set down her satchel. "We'll rest here. You need to recover."
Kael sat, his body aching. But the flame inside him pulsed—not from pain, but urgency.
"This place… it feels familiar," he murmured.
Mira knelt beside him. "It should. This was once the seat of the Flameguard—your ancestors' elite protectors. Before the Ember Throne fell, they stood here, holding back the Watch."
Kael ran his hand along the cold stone. "Why did they fall?"
"Betrayal. Someone from within lit the Beacon of Ash and called the Watchers. By the time the Flameguard realized, it was too late."
"Did anyone survive?"
"Only myths. A few say the last Flameguard captain vanished into the Wildwood, waiting for the heir to return."
Kael stared at the crumbling stairwell leading below the tower. The flame in his palm flickered gently.
"There's something down there."
Mira followed his gaze. "You're sure?"
"Yes."
Without waiting, Kael rose and descended the cracked stone steps, his flame illuminating carvings long buried in darkness. Murals of warriors cloaked in fire lined the walls. At the bottom, they found a circular chamber—dusty, sealed, forgotten.
At the center stood a pedestal. On it lay a gauntlet made of dark metal etched in glowing ember runes. As Kael stepped closer, the runes ignited.
Mira gasped. "The Ember Gauntlet."
Kael hesitated. "What does it do?"
"It's a conduit," she whispered. "A relic tied to your bloodline. It channels the flame... makes it sharper, controlled."
He reached out and slid his hand into it. The metal tightened, recognizing him.
Suddenly, fire roared around the chamber—yet none of it burned him. The air trembled.
Visions struck: The Ember King in battle. The Watch kneeling. The throne rising from flame.
Kael staggered back, breath sharp.
"The past is coming back," he said.
Mira stepped beside him. "And this time, it will have its heir."