n the warmth. The storm outside had finally passed, but the tempest within her still raged. "You're the last Flameborn." The words echoed endlessly in her mind. Dalen hadn't spoken ag

and eliminate. Kael clenched his jaw. "She's just a girl..." His rune-stone pulsed in his cloak pocket-his commander demanding a report. He didn't answer. Not yet. The Seal wasn't meant to break this soon. If she was awakening now, something had triggered it. He slid the scope back into his belt and vanished silently into the trees. --- Liora stood on the outskirts of the forest, the cool morning air stinging her cheeks. She hadn't told Dalen where she was going-she just needed to breathe. Her hand burned faintly again, pulling her forward. She paused at the clearing where the arch had appeared the night before, but there was nothing-just moss and old stones, silent in the fog. "Looking for something?" a voice asked behind her. She spun. A young man stood several feet away-tall, cloaked, with dark hair and eyes like molten silver. "Who are you?" she demanded, her hand instinctively flexing. He didn't answer. "You're not from Eldranth." "No. And neither are you, not really." Her stomach tightened. "You have the mark," he said, stepping forward. "You don't know what it means yet, do you?" "Who sent you?" she asked, backing away. He stopped. "I'm not here to hurt you." "Then why are you armed?" He gave a half-shrug and revealed the runed blade strapped to his side. "Because not everyone who wears the mark is good." "You're a Warden." His eyes narrowed. "You know of us?" "Dalen told me... last night." They stood in silence, the air humming between them. "I've spent my life hunting the marked," Kael said. "But you... you weren't supposed to exist." "Why haven't you tried to kill me then?" she asked, her voice cracking. Kael looked away. "Because I think you might be the only one who can stop what's coming." --- Back at the cottage, Dalen opene