The Council had summoned her.
Amber stood in the Circle of Thirteen, a wide stone arena surrounded by pillars of obsidian and firelight. The elders of Virelan sat like shadows draped in crimson, their eyes gleaming with power and suspicion.
"You are not one of us," the High Magister said, his voice sharp as steel. "You are chaos. Fire in a fragile vessel."
Amber said nothing. She felt Nate's presence behind her like a steady flame, but she didn't look back. She couldn't.
"We cannot allow the bond between you and the outsider to endanger the city," another councilor hissed. "Or worse—the realm."
"She is the Phoenix Queen reborn," someone else whispered. "And she doesn't even know what that means."
"I never asked to be your queen," Amber finally said, her voice calm but edged with heat. "But I didn't ask for your chains either."
The High Magister stood. "Then you must be tested. Tonight."
Nate stepped forward. "She's not ready."
Amber raised her hand, stopping him.
"I'll do it," she said.
Because she knew what they didn't.
Kael was stirring. And if she didn't face what was inside her soon—she wouldn't be Amber anymore.
---
That night, Nate cornered her in their chambers. He looked like a man ready to break the world in half.
"You can't keep giving them pieces of yourself," he said, his voice low and dangerous.
"I'm not," she said, shaking. "I'm giving them what I don't want to keep."
"Damn it, Amber!" He grabbed her arms, then let go like touching her burned. "They want to break you."
She looked up at him, raw and unflinching. "What if I need to be broken?"
Silence.
Nate backed away, breathing hard.
"I don't know how to protect you if you won't let me in."
Her heart ached. "It's not you I'm shutting out. It's everything else."
He turned away, jaw clenched, hands in his hair. "You don't see what I see when I look at you."
"Then tell me."
He turned slowly. "I see the woman I want. The one I'd burn kingdoms for. And I see her drowning in a fire she's too afraid to fight."
Amber moved toward him. "I'm trying."
"I know," he said, voice cracking. "But gods, Amber—trying doesn't mean pushing me out every time you bleed."
He reached for her, and this time, she didn't pull away.
Their lips met—not soft, not sweet, but with the desperation of two people fighting to stay whole.
She tugged his shirt, and he lifted her onto the edge of the bed, mouths clashing, breath short and shallow. The bond between them thrummed like wildfire, heat spilling through her veins.
"I need this," she whispered against his lips.
"Say it again," he growled.
"I need you."
He kissed her throat, her collarbone, his hands branding her skin.
But just as his hands slid beneath her tunic, a flash of heat bloomed across her wrist—the mark pulsing violently.
Kael.
Amber gasped, jerking back.
"No," she breathed. "Not now."
Nate froze, every muscle tight. "He's here?"
"No… but he's close." She pressed a hand to her mark. "He's trying to force the bond."
"Then let me sever it," Nate said, already reaching for his blade.
"No!" she snapped. "If we break it now, he'll kill us both."
They stood panting in the dark, the moment shattered, the air heavy with want and danger.
"Amber…" Nate touched her cheek. "I'll wait. For as long as it takes."
She kissed his palm. "Don't wait forever."
---
Just before dawn, they led her to the Ritual Grounds—barefoot, cloaked in white, her wrists bound with gold thread. The elders formed a circle around her, chanting ancient words. Magic thickened the air like smoke.
"You must face the flame," the High Magister intoned. "And either emerge reborn… or be consumed."
They lit the pyre.
Flames leapt high, hungry and wild.
Amber stepped into the center, heart pounding, her mark blazing like a sun beneath her skin.
The fire didn't burn her. It welcomed her.
Voices echoed in the inferno—Kael's laughter, her mother's song, Nate's whisper.
She saw herself—shattered, lost, angry. She saw the part of her that wanted to surrender to Kael. The part that wanted to run.
And then she saw a woman wrapped in fire, eyes like molten gold, unafraid.
Me, she realized. That's who I could be.
She screamed—and the flames screamed with her.
The mark on her wrist flared and snapped—a sound like thunder—and Kael's presence vanished.
When the fire died, Amber stood in the ashes, smoke curling around her. Her robes were gone. Her skin glowed with faint golden light. Her eyes burned.
The council knelt.
Even Nate did.
But she walked to him and touched his face. "Don't kneel," she whispered. "Not you."
He rose and crushed her to him.
"You came back," he said.
She kissed him, slow and deep. "No. I came through."