The blast came without warning.
A wave of blistering heat erupted from the girl's hands, racing across the clearing like an unchained wildfire. It devoured the air, curling leaves to ash in its wake. Kazi barely managed to dive aside, the edge of her coat catching the scorched breath of the inferno as it passed.
"She's not attacking you!" Rhazir shouted, dodging as well from the blast beside her. "She's testing you!"
Kazi hit the dirt hard, the wind knocked out of her. Her mark pulsed, it was hot, alive and flaring against her skin like a heartbeat of molten light. Amber threads glowed beneath her ember mark, the feeling of flames coursing through her veins, rising to meet the blaze.
She didn't know how she was doing it. But the mark did.
The next wave came faster, fiercer. A lance of flame shot forward, spiraling like a serpent of pure fire, its fangs aimed straight for her chest.
Kazi threw up her arm on instinct.
A burst of amber light surged outward from her mark, erupting in a radiant shield. The fire struck mid-air and shattered. Sparks exploded around her like fireflies caught in a storm.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Did I just do that?" She asked herself.
Rhazir gave a sharp nod, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You're syncing."
"I don't even know how!"
"You don't have to," he said calmly. "Let it guide you."
Kazi turned back toward the center of the clearing. The girl still stood beside the blackened pillar, motionless as stone. She hadn't moved an inch. Her face remained unreadable… emontionless, but the flame swirling around her palms danced with wild intent.
Kazi rose to her feet, shoulders squared. Her mark burned brighter now, casting long, flickering shadows across her skin.
She took a deep breath. Closed her eyes and listened to the fire within her. She felt the heat, the flames running through her blood. As she opened her eyes, then came the third wave.
But this time, Kazi didn't flinch. She didn't even raise her hands this time. Instead, her will power ever so strong, took over.
The fire lunged toward her, then curved, bending around her like a stream redirected by unseen hands. The flame twisted through the air, fragmented, and scattered like embers in the wind.
The girl finally broke character and blinked once. She paused, causing a shift in the air.
Kazi looked her way and noticed her smiling. "Why is she smiling?" she said to herself.
The fire vanished from the girl's hands like a candle being snuffed out.
Kazi held her stance, heart racing, but her breathing slowed. "Is it over?"
"For now," Rhazir said beside her. "She's not an enemy."
The girl began walking towards Kazi, moving silently across the scorched ground. Up close, the girl looked younger than Kazi expected. She was no more than sixteen, maybe even less. Yet her eyes carried an ancient weight. And in them burned the same amber fire as Kazi's mark.
"You carry the Ember Line," the girl said softly. Her voice was calm, melodic, like wind through dry leaves. "But you don't know it yet."
Kazi frowned. "Know what?"
"What it means to burn."
Before she could speak again, the girl reached out, and pressed two fingers to Kazi's left wrist, right over the mark.
In an instant, fire tore through Kazi's mind.
Not heat. Not pain. Memories.
Her body locked in place, breath stolen and visions consumed her:
A woman screaming inside the heart of a volcano.
A city ablaze, flames raining down as shadows clashed in the skies.
Eight figures standing before a burning gate, their backs to the world.
And then… Silence.
Kazi stumbled back, gasping for air. The visions faded, but their weight remained.
"What was that?" she breathed.
The girl tilted her head. "A spark."
She turned and walked away; bare feet silent against the ash.
"Wait!" Kazi called. "Who are you?"
The girl paused. Without turning, she replied,
"I'm the one who remembers what you forgot."