"....Empress."
The fire was still spreading when the mages arrived.
Theon felt the heat before he saw the flames. A huge wall of fire swept through the eastern garden, burning hedges that had stood there for many years. Thick black smoke filled the night sky.
Behind him, servants shouted and ran for water.
But water wouldn’t stop a fire like this.
Then the ice came.
Six senior mages stepped forward and formed a half-circle around the flames. They slammed their staff into the ground and began chanting together. Their voices were calm and steady.
Frost spread across the ground, covering the grass before climbing over the burning hedges.
The fire fought back.
For a moment, it flared even higher, as if refusing to go out.
Then it slowly began to lose.
Steam rose wherever the ice touched the flames. The mages never stopped chanting. They didn’t move until the last ember disappeared beneath a thick layer of ice.
Only then did they lower their staffs together.
Theon didn’t stay to watch.
He hurried back to where he had left Lyra.
She was sitting against the garden wall, staring at her hands as if they no longer belonged to her. Her palm was red where the fire had first appeared.
"Lyra," he said softly. "Look at me."
She raised her head.
Whatever she saw in his eyes helped her calm down a little.
"No one saw us," he said. "Not yet. We need to leave before that changes."
He took her uninjured hand and led her away from the smoke, the shouting, and the mages. They slipped through the servants’ hallway, climbed a narrow staircase, and entered an old guest room on the second floor.
Theon knew the place well. When he was younger, he used this path to sneak into the kitchen for sweets.
He helped Lyra sit on the bed before kneeling in front of her.
"You need some sleep," he said. "Just for tonight. It’ll be easier if you don’t think about everything until morning."
She looked exhausted.
"Will it hurt?" she asked quietly.
"No."
He gently placed two fingers on her forehead and drew a small magic symbol, one he had learned years ago but never told anyone he still remembered.
"You won’t feel anything."
Before he finished the spell, Lyra’s eyes closed.
Her breathing became slow and peaceful.
The tension left her body.
Theon covered her with a blanket and stood there for a moment, watching her sleep.
Then he quietly left the room and locked the door behind him.
When he returned to his own room, everything looked normal.
He changed into his night clothes, lay on his bed, folded his hands over his chest, and pretended to be asleep.
He never actually slept.
If anyone came to check on him, they would see exactly what they expected. A young prince who had slept peacefully through the night.
That was exactly what he wanted them to believe.
But behind his closed eyes, his thoughts refused to stop.
Someone sealed Lyra’s power on purpose.
That much was clear now.
The seal hadn’t weakened on its own.
He had loosened it carefully, only a little.
He never expected her fire to react like that.
He never expected it to answer him so eagerly.
Whoever created that seal knew exactly what they were sealing.
Which meant...
His father knew too.
He had known for years.
He asked someone to place that seal.
Someone must have warned him.
Someone knew what Lyra really was.
Theon kept thinking about it.
If the seal existed to protect Lyra, then whatever power she carried was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
And I almost released it.
He remembered the six elders struggling to freeze only a small burst of fire.
If six senior mages barely stopped a spark...
What happens when it becomes a real flame?
Sleep finally came, but only for a short time.
It wasn’t restful.
The next morning, hurried footsteps echoed outside his room.
Servants whispered in the hallway.
Theon sat up.
For one brief moment, he almost forgot what had happened.
Then he remembered the fire.
He quickly got dressed and stepped outside.
Several servants stood by the window, staring toward the eastern garden.
One of them noticed him, bowed quickly, and hurried away.
Theon already knew what they were talking about.
He had barely finished half of his breakfast when a royal guard entered the dining hall.
"Young Master. His Majesty wishes to see you. Immediately."
Theon put down his spoon.
"Alright."
The Emperor’s study felt colder than usual.
Duke Aldric stood near the window with his arms crossed.
Lyra was already there, sitting quietly with her hands folded together.
Yrsa stood silently beside her.
Theon entered.
The door closed behind him.
"Sit."
The Emperor spoke only one word, but it carried enough authority that no one questioned him.
Theon sat.
Silence filled the room.
The Emperor’s eyes rested on the burn mark across Lyra’s palm.
Finally, he spoke.
"Tell me what happened."
His voice was calm.
It never needed to be loud.
Theon glanced at Lyra.
She couldn’t bring herself to meet their father’s eyes.
"I was helping her," Theon said. "Her magic always stopped after creating a tiny flame. I discovered something was sealing her power, so I loosened it a little."
"And then?"
"I don’t know."
He clenched his jaw.
"It wasn’t supposed to grow like that."
"I only wanted to help."
The Emperor stayed silent.
He looked toward Duke Aldric.
Theon noticed the look they exchanged.
It wasn’t surprise, It was fear. An old fear.
The kind people carry for years. "You should never have touched that seal," the Emperor said quietly.
"Then tell me what it is."
Theon’s voice rose before he could stop himself.
"You already knew this would happen, didn’t you?"
"You knew." The Emperor walked to the window. He looked at the burned garden outside. "That seal was placed on her many years ago," he said softly.
"I ordered it myself." Lyra looked up in shock.
"You... asked for it?"
"I wasn’t trying to hurt you." The Emperor turned back toward them. For a moment, he looked less like a father and more like an emperor. "I did it because I was told that without it..."
"...you would die from your own power." Theon frowned.
"Who told you so?" The Emperor looked at Duke Aldric.
The Duke gave the slightest shake of his head. The Emperor sighed.
"I won’t answer that today." He looked directly at Theon.
"Understand this."
"The seal was never only protecting everyone else."
"It was protecting Lyra." Silence returned.
"So... what happens now?" Theon asked.
"For now..." "Nothing." The Emperor’s voice became firm.
"You will not touch that seal again."
"That is an order." Theon hesitated.
Then he nodded. "...I understand." The Emperor looked at Lyra. "And you."
"You will not force your fire to appear again."
"Not alone."
"Not for any reason." Lyra nodded quickly.
"Good." The Emperor waved his hand.
"You may both leave."
"We’ll speak about this again when the time is right." Theon helped Lyra to her feet. As they reached the door, he looked back.
The Emperor and Duke Aldric were already speaking quietly together. He couldn’t hear them. But the silence between them made him uneasy. Later, Theon sat with Lyra on a bench overlooking the courtyard. She had barely spoken since leaving the study.
"You alright?" he asked. She slowly shook her head.
"I keep thinking..."
"What if you hadn’t been there?"
"What if the fire kept growing?"
"But It didn’t," Theon replied.
"But it could have." She stared at the mark on her palm.
"It’s still warm.", "Even now."
"It feels like something is still inside me."
"Waiting." Theon looked at the mark. It seemed harmless.
Just a thin red line. "We’ll figure it out."
"This time..."
"Together." Lyra smiled faintly.
"You really believe that, don’t you?"
"I do."
He gently nudged her shoulder. "So stop worrying so much."
"You’ll wear yourself out before you even learn how to control that fire." She laughed softly. It was the first real laugh since they left the study. It wasn’t much. But it was enough.
Deep beneath the palace... In a prison where sunlight had never reached... A chained man sat with his eyes closed.
He hadn’t moved for hours. He didn’t need to. He had already felt it. A faint ripple of fire from the world above.
It had been so many years since he last sensed that power.
Long enough that he had almost given up hope.
His eyes slowly opened. Ancient blue glyphs glowed across the stone walls. He turned one wrist. The chains rattled.
He hadn’t tested them in years. Now..., He had a reason.
He slowly pulled against one chain. The metal groaned.
One nearby glyph flickered for a single moment before glowing steadily again. The man smiled.
"...It’s weakening." His rough voice echoed through the prison.
"Aetherion’s seal was never meant to last forever."
"Nothing can imprison power like hers forever."
He leaned back against the cold stone wall.
"Her vessel has awakened."
"For now..."
"It is only a spark."
"But sparks always become flames."
"Given enough time." He closed his eyes again.
The smile remained.
"Soon."
"I’ll welcome you properly this time..."
"...my empress." The chains gently rattled as he settled back into the darkness.
Waiting.
That night, Theon lay awake once more. He couldn’t forget the look his father had shared with Duke Aldric.
It wasn’t the look of someone surprised. It was the look of someone who had feared this day for many years.
He remembered Lyra’s words. It’s still warm. Even now.
He thought about the World Archive. The locked record.
The words describing a vessel that would die without its seal.
None of it made sense. His father knew something.
Duke Aldric knew something too. And whatever secret they were hiding... It was connected to Lyra.
Connected to the fire that nearly destroyed the garden.
Theon turned onto his side and closed his eyes.
Sleep still refused to come. Somewhere beneath the palace... In a place he didn’t even know existed...
Something had begun to rise. And it is waiting. For her. Waiting for the seal to weaken finally.