The Scorched Peaks stretched like a blackened sea, jagged and broken. Each step Nicolette's horse took kicked up clouds of ash that clung to her cloak and burned her throat. The air shimmered with heat, even though no sun pierced the thick red haze above. It felt like the land was holding its breath—watching them.
Kael rode ahead, his sharp eyes scanning the terrain. He hadn't spoken much since they entered the Wastes, but his sword hand never strayed far from his hilt. The silence between them wasn't awkward—it was survival.
They reached a crumbled outpost just before dusk. Burnt stone walls jutted from the ground like broken bones, and an old watchtower leaned dangerously to one side.
"We'll rest here," Kael said, dismounting. "Can't risk pushing through in darkness."
Nicolette nodded, grateful to be off the horse. Her legs ached, her back burned, and the flame pendant around her neck pulsed faster—as if warning her. She pressed a hand against it.
"What's wrong?" Kael asked.
"It's… reacting. I think we're close."
Kael looked around. "Close to what?"
Nicolette didn't answer. She wasn't sure.
---
Inside the outpost, they found shelter beneath the crumbled roof of what once might've been a command hall. Kael lit a small, smokeless fire using crystal shards he carried in a pouch. The flame shimmered silver and blue—magic fire, quiet and unseen by distant eyes.
Nicolette sat beside it, her fingers tracing the flame pendant's edges.
"When you said people would kill for these keys," she said, "who are they?"
Kael didn't answer at first. Then he looked up, jaw clenched.
"They call themselves the Black Sigil. Remnants of the old empire. They want the veil to break—believe it will restore their dominion."
"Over both realms?"
He nodded. "They think if chaos returns, they'll rise from it."
Nicolette shuddered. "And they know about the keys?"
"They know enough to hunt anyone with power… or purpose."
The fire flickered, casting shadows that danced across the ruined walls. Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the cracks, and Nicolette heard something—faint whispers, like dry leaves brushing stone.
She stood up, tense. "Did you hear that?"
Kael rose too, hand on his blade. "No. What did you hear?"
"Voices."
They both turned toward the collapsed archway that once served as the outpost's gate. Beyond it, the ash swirled unnaturally, coiling into twisting shapes like tendrils. The flame pendant around Nicolette's neck grew hot—almost too hot to touch.
Then, the ground trembled slightly.
Kael stepped forward, drawing his blade. "Get behind me."
But Nicolette didn't move. Something pulled her toward the gate—not physically, but from within. The whispers grew louder, and the pendant blazed red.
A figure emerged from the swirling ash—a woman cloaked in black, her eyes burning with violet fire.
"You bear the flame," she said in a voice both melodic and cruel. "Give it to me, child."
Kael moved fast, sword raised. "You'll have to take it from her corpse."
The woman smiled. "If I must."
In a flash, the ash exploded outward. Kael leapt to shield Nicolette as the stranger raised her hand and the shadows twisted into sharp spears of black wind. Kael deflected one—barely—but another grazed his arm, drawing blood.
Nicolette's instincts flared. Without thinking, she raised her hand, and the flame pendant ignited with a roar. A barrier of glowing red light burst around her and Kael, shielding them from the storm.
The woman hissed. "She's awakening…"
Then she vanished—dissolving into ash.
Silence fell.
Kael gasped, gripping his arm. "You alright?"
"I think… the flame protected us."
He looked at her with something new in his eyes. Not surprise. Respect. "You're stronger than you know."
Nicolette knelt beside him, placing her glowing hand on his wound. The light surged, sealing the cut instantly. He flinched, then let out a slow breath.
"Thanks."
She didn't answer. Her mind was racing.
If that was the Black Sigil… then they were closer than she thought. And they would not stop.